Harry Potter and the Unexpected Dogfather
by CaskettFan5
Summary: Part 2 of the "unexpected" series, you might want to read 'Harry Potter and the Unexpected Friend' first. This story covers year 3 of Harry and Daphne's adventures in the magical world. [Harry Daphne] [Sirius OC] Tracey Davis, Neville Longbottom, Astoria Greengrass, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley
1. Changes (turn and face the strange)

Chapter Title: Changes (turn and face the strange)

A/N: If you just want a recap of part 1 of this series, here it is. Shortly after the duelling club debacle in book 2, Harry stumbles into a new friend who challenges his perception of his life and the magical world and he learns that friendships in one generation can carry on to the next. Daphne Greengrass pushes Harry's expectations of himself, his friends and magic, while connecting with each other through secret meetings and notes using Greengrass family magic. After dealing with the mystery of the chamber and solving the riddle of who planted the diary, they plot successful revenge on Lucius Malfoy but in turn, Draco swears retribution. After House Greengrass rescues Harry from being sentenced to another summer in Durskaban, Harry spends the summer with the Greengrasses and learns from his parents' will that it is exactly where he should have been. After uncovering the prophecy and that something strange is happening with Harry's scar, Harry and Daphne encounter a stray dog and then share their first kiss. This story starts the next morning.

A/N2: Does anyone recognize the chapter title? Special thanks to Shygui for inspiring me to be a better writer even though he says that is what I do for him. I hope everyone finds this story worth the wait.

When you touch a man's body, he will enjoy the moment, when you touch a man's heart he will remember it forever. ― Dixie Waters

Harry had a hard time sleeping that night but it had nothing to do with his scar even though it did still tingle. He had kissed Daphne Greengrass! He still couldn't believe it! Well, to be more accurate, she had kissed him but they had kissed, that was the important part. If someone had told him a year ago that he'd kiss the ice queen of Slytherin, he'd have called them mad and laughed at them. Now, he was facing that reality and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

She had said she had wanted to kiss a certain boy for months now and he had assumed that it was him but what if it wasn't? What if she kissed him only because he was there and she had been thinking about some other bloke? If he was the boy she'd wanted to kiss for months had this changed anything? Were they boyfriend and girlfriend now? If so, how should he act?

He had to talk to her as they hadn't talked last night. They'd both been on such a high from kissing and then walking together back to their home when it was dark. There'd been more kisses than he could count. Why hadn't they talked?

All this thinking was driving him mad and he hadn't gotten enough sleep. He'd have to face her and her little sister and her mother and probably even her father! He was doomed. He was going to explode from sheer angst and confusion. Maybe he could just hide in his room for the rest of the day.

* * *

Daphne was going to kill him! She was so angry with him that no other solution occurred to her. Her sister was snickering at her! Snickering! Her mother was being stoic – too stoic. Inside she was probably laughing at her too. Her father was the worst, acting like he hadn't noticed them at all. She knew that he knew, there was no other possibility because that bloody idiotic boy and made it so completely bloody obvious!

He had been a bloody blushing, stuttering mess since the moment he had joined them for breakfast. What had happened to all of that Occlumency training? Why couldn't he look at her? Why couldn't he at least attempt to act normal? Why did he have to make it so painfully obvious that something big had changed between them? Why was he still here? Why was he still breathing? Why hadn't she hexed him to bits yet? They were all good questions. She was going to have to kill him.

When Harry seemed done, she wanted to get them some privacy as soon as she could. She was anxious to start tearing him a new one. "We should go look to see if that stray dog is still around."

Harry nodded rather dumbly but at least he was bright enough to agree with her. His intellect might still be above the Crabbe/Goyle level after all, if barely. She stormed out of the house and didn't bother moderating her speed so when she was far enough from the house to suit her need for privacy vs. the amount of her patience, she saw him lagging behind, staring at the ground ahead of him.

If he thought that pouting would get her sympathy, he was in for a rude awakening. She crossed her arms and glowered at him as he approached. The fact that he didn't even see her glare and was making her wait just fuelled her rage. He was really asking for it and he was going to get it!

Just as he came to a stop in front of her she had her wand out and shouted "MUFFLIATO!" as she did the wand motion. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?! Have you forgotten everything I taught you about Occlumency? You couldn't have made it more obvious that something has changed if you had flat out told them! What were you thinking?!"

He just stood there, staring at the ground and saying nothing. "What?! Nothing to say for yourself?" She almost screamed in frustration. "At least you know there are no excuses for your behaviour! You are such an idiot, Harry Potter!"

She waited again with her fists clenched so tightly that they hurt and then for the first time she began to question whether she was missing something. He certainly looked sorry and he wasn't trying to justify himself, perhaps she ought to ease up? Her face softened from a scowl to slight confusion and with his head hanging down, she couldn't really tell what his reaction was. Thus, after physically calming herself, she slowly reached out her hand and lifted his chin to see his face.

When she saw that he was silently crying she felt like she'd been punched in the gut and she felt her face being drained of blood. Then it all became obvious to her in an avalanche of realizations that almost staggered her. She was well aware of how he'd been raised, how would that have prepared him for this situation? In no way at all, that was an easy answer. She had assumed he understood everything last night and never talked about it but it was now painfully obvious that she had made an egregious error. This was her fault and she was the idiot, not him.

She knew she had to fix this and without conscious thought she drew him into a hug and started whispering in his ear, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…." It was a relief when he hugged her back and she found herself crying too.

When she felt they'd both recovered enough she drew slowly back and kept her hands on his shoulders to show she was not trying to push him away. She'd done enough damage to her friend and she wouldn't risk doing any more. "You have no idea what last night meant, do you?"

He started looking ashamed and moved his head back down as she shook his head 'no'. Again she lifted his chin with one of her hands. "That is my fault, Harry. I'm the idiot and you have nothing to feel bad about. I should have talked to you instead of assuming you understood and then this morning I decided this was all your fault without giving you a chance to talk to me. In fact, this calls for a formal apology."

She let go of him and just had gotten her wand pointed up and started to say, "I, Daphne…" when Harry suddenly put his hand over hers.

"No, Daphne, you don't have to do that."

She was tempted to argue with him but decided it would be counterproductive. She nodded assent and put her wand away and put both of her hands on his cheeks, which surprised him but apparently in a good way. "I just wanted you to know how sorry I was. This is all my fault. I should have talked to you about this last night."

She saw he was getting nervous so she decided it was time for her to lay out all of her cards for him to see. "You are the boy I have wanted to kiss for months." She paused as she searched his eyes and saw a hopeful look so she continued. "I don't know when it was that I started to fancy you, it might have been when we were writing while I was on the train home for winter break. I didn't realize how much I liked you until the day after the chamber. I was scared out of my wits but I just couldn't let you go alone. If I'd lost you, I think I'd have wanted to die too."

She saw the look of amazement in his eyes but then she started to see concern so she decided to lighten up the mood a little. "Then when we talked about Ginny and you said you weren't ready for dating so I decided I would wait until you were ready to be more than friends. Then last night you caught onto my mood and you kept worrying about me and I just couldn't hold it in anymore." She then gave him her biggest smile and asked, "Harry Potter, will you be my boyfriend?"

He looked gobsmacked and so cute that she had to fight the urge to kiss him that moment. "You – you still want me as a boyfriend?"

He sounded so unsure she decided to say it again. "I very much want you as a boyfriend, Harry. I'm so sorry for getting angry with you for something that was my fault. Please forgive me, please say yes."

She didn't really need to wait for his answer when the huge smile bloomed on his face. He said 'Yes' anyway and then she just had to kiss him, which turned into several kisses as they held each other tightly.

* * *

Roxanne breathed a sigh of relief as she lowered the omnioculars. She'd been afraid that their inexperience with relationships might end theirs before it had properly begun so she had moved to the room where she could still see them. However, it seemed that her daughter had figured out how to make up with her boyfriend on her own. She had been very concerned when her daughter had her wand out earlier though.

It had been painfully obvious that there had been a terrible misunderstanding about last night but they managed to figure it out on their own. Now that the cat was out of the bag, maybe she could give her some helpful hints about dating and such. Daphne must realize that she knew after what happened at breakfast.

"Spying, dear?"

She hadn't noticed her husband entering and she blushed at his teasing. She tried to keep her voice even as she replied, "I was just making sure I wouldn't have to step in."

"So the storm is over then?"

She looked back at him as she wasn't sure what his tone of voice meant with his last question. "Yes, thank goodness. I was afraid Daphne was angry enough to do something unfortunate."

His tone reflected a distinct lack of enthusiasm as he said, "So, she has a boyfriend now."

She rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "Oh, don't act so sour. She's a beautiful girl and she prefers boys, this was going to happen sooner or later and you know it. Plus, I think it's a very good thing that she has chosen Harry, I think they could be a good match."

Cyrus' answer was a reluctant grunt so she decided to push the issue. "Do you or do you not want to eventually have a male heir to continue the Greengrass line?"

"Of course I do."

"Then get used to this." She gave him a challenging look that eventually made him look a little sheepish.

"OK, you're right but it seems a little soon."

"Goodness, Cyrus. They're thirteen and just starting to date for the first time. We're a long way from you having to give her away." She smiled at his look of alarm. "I said a _**long**_ way away from that day. You have _**years**_ to get used to the idea, silly man."

He still looked disconcerted. "What about you? You'd be losing her too."

"I don't look at it like that. I won't lose a daughter and instead I'll gain a son."

He looked at her and surprise changed to contemplation. Eventually he said, "Oh. Well, maybe it won't be so bad then."

She chuckled before she gave him a hug and a kiss. She felt him relax into her embrace and knew they'd be just fine, at least until the next teenage angst flare-up.

* * *

Harry was absolutely mortified. He had kept trying to go into his Occlumency trance and kept failing. Daphne wasn't controlling herself as well as she normally did either and she was seething with anger towards him, which was no help at all as he became depressed. By the end of breakfast he was wondering if the best thing he could do is run away and never bother them again.

He knew that looking for the dog was an excuse and she'd likely hex him and tell him to never speak to her again. The worst part was that he felt he deserved that, he was such a loser. He followed her out and couldn't even muster the energy to keep his head up. When she started berating him, he was waiting for the hexes to start, he resolved to just take whatever she dished out and accept his fate, he just hoped it didn't hurt too much.

Then things took an unexpected turn as she lifted his head for him. Suddenly, he was being held by Daphne and she was apologizing to him! He didn't know what to make of this sudden reversal but he wasn't going to ignore a chance to hug her back. Maybe he wouldn't have to leave after all?

Her explanation of her feelings toward him boggled his mind. Was this a dream? It had to be as things like this didn't happen to him. He knew better than to argue with her whether it was a dream or not. Of course he'd be her boyfriend! She was an amazing and gorgeous girl and he'd have to be dumber than Crabbe and Goyle to say no.

As they kissed, it finally started to feel more normal to him, this was actually reality and his spirits soared. However, he couldn't let her take all of the blame, he's the one who couldn't control himself and caused their issues this morning. She'd been willing to make a formal wizarding apology and he owed her too much to allow her to do that.

Before he could gather his wits to bring it up, she drew back and gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. "Come on, Harry. Since we said we'd look for the dog, we may as well do it." He noticed that her hands never left him entirely and she took a strong grip on his near hand as they began to walk.

He felt a bit overwhelmed still but managed to speak anyway. "I want to apologize too. I should have handled the situation better, especially at breakfast and not gotten us into this mess."

"Harry, it wasn't that bad, I blew it out of proportion. We were never going to have this happen without anyone knowing. It's just that I'd hoped to time it better. In the long run, there's no harm done but we'll have to put up with some teasing from Astoria for a while. Did you see her face? How she was snickering? It's going to be awful!"

Harry smiled as she rolled her eyes theatrically but he had to make sure he made his point. "I just want you to know how sorry I am."

"I understand. Now, can we stop apologizing to each other already?" She gave him a grin then leaned in and whispered, "We have better things we could be doing."

Harry swallowed nervously. That sounded good, very good in fact but he still didn't know what to do. "Erm, I'm new at this, I'll probably bollix things up a few times."

"I'm new too and I just bollixed things up by overreacting." She then leaned in again and whispered, "We also get a chance to make up after a disagreement. That can be fun, don't you think?"

Well if making up meant kissing, he was all for it. He grinned back at her and she giggled at him. He was surprised by her giggle as it wasn't normal for her and it was at that moment he realized that he was making her as happy as she was making him. This whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing was rather amazing, he thought to himself as he grinned. He was startled to discover how far they'd walked when he heard the dog bark and he looked over to see him sitting there on the other side of the fence. Was that dog grinning at them?

* * *

Sirius Black was a nervous wreck. He had decided to try to stay in the area but that would mean revealing who he was. Playing the 'stray dog' until they left wouldn't gain him anything other than some food, the only way to truly get to know his godson would be to reveal who he was and hope that he'd get a chance to explain. He slept badly and didn't want to miss them so he went to where he'd seen them the previous day and waited even though it was still quite early.

How to reveal himself though? He quickly discarded simply transforming in front of them as that would go badly. He'd probably frighten them so much he wouldn't get a word in and he wouldn't be able to follow them through the wards. How could he ease into it though? That's when remembered he had two newspapers with him. He checked to make sure he was alone and transformed to human form and removed the two newspapers he possessed.

He still had the one that Fudge had thrown to him, the one with the Weasleys on the front page, the one that had motivated him to escape. That one would be no help so he returned it to his pocket and opened the other one and saw himself from when he'd been arrested, laughing like a madman although the issue was announcing his escape, not his capture. He grimaced at the memory, he'd been overtired, overwrought and stunned about having been outmanoeuvred by Wormtail of all people. He had grievously underestimated his former friend and paid a heavy price for his folly.

He had foolishly believed that they would soon realize that although he was an idiot, he wasn't the betrayer they had treated him as. Unfortunately for him, that day never came and he had rotted with his doubts and recriminations for longer than he cared to contemplate. He shook off the memories and regarded the newspaper with a critical eye. It was a little the worse for wear as he'd picked it out of the rubbish bin but the picture was clear enough for his purposes. It would suffice but how to present it? He didn't dare put it on the wall, the wards might do something to it. He put it on the ground on his side and pushed the vegetation down so it would be visible to them.

He transformed back and looked around and found himself still alone. He sat down and regarded the newspaper and decided he couldn't just leave it there like that. He had to make sure they were paying attention and then show it but how? He had only one way to conceal it for now, he laughed to himself as he sat on it and waited.

His insomnia and early arrival made the wait long and boring so he alternated between lying down and sitting up and finally heard people approaching. He popped back up and quickly identified the same two teens. This time was a little different though as they were holding hands and walking closely together. They were obviously a couple and she was definitely flirting with him.

He was happy for Harry to see his suspicions of yesterday confirmed but then he realized that Harry was ahead of the Marauders. As much as he prided himself on being a ladies' man, the truth was he didn't start pursuing the ladies until near the end of his third year. He mentally chuckled to himself at how his little pup was already outdoing him. James had been smitten with Lily at that age but getting nowhere with her and Moony never really tried. He didn't even consider Wormtail.

Here was Harry, his little pup, already with a pretty bird who seemed destined to be one of the most beautiful in all of Hogwarts and he hadn't even started his third year yet! He gave a mental cheer, _way to go, Pup!_ He couldn't stop his smile and he hoped it wouldn't look threatening on the face of a large dog. He was so excited that the bark slipped out before he could stop it. Not only had he alerted them to their audience as he could already see her pulling slightly away from Harry but he'd also put himself in the spotlight. He felt like a bad dog or at least a stupid one and he might owe his pup an apology for ruining his moment.

"He's here."

Well that was a mood killer, she sounded almost disappointed. Hopefully, it's only because he had foolishly interrupted them and not because she was against him already. He stayed as he was though as they had to come closer to see the newspaper and fortunately, they did keep approaching. That's when he noticed their slightly swollen lips and comingled scents. Harry, you dog! He was so proud.

Harry was beaming at him. "How are you doing, boy?"

He had to suppress his urge to go to Harry. His dog instincts wanted to approach him as much as his human feelings, which was a powerful combination. He settled for a soft 'woof' that Harry seemed to choose to accept as a greeting. They were finally close enough and he had no better ideas for the big reveal so he slowly rose and prepared to step out of the way. He didn't miss Daphne's hand urging Harry slightly back, she was a protective one and he expected he'd be facing her wand soon.

He wasn't disappointed, she hissed a warning to Harry and had her wand pointed at him in a flash. Although Harry slowly removed his wand too, he kept it down and looked from the copy of the Daily Prophet to him with a puzzled look. Since she looked like she wasn't about to hex him yet, he then pointed at the picture with his nose and then looked at Harry again.

However, it was the girl who spoke up. "He's an Animagus! Who are you?!"

Yep, he was definitely not in her good books.

Harry seemed to have an epiphany. "That's how you got away! You're Sirius Black, aren't you?"

If he could manage it as a dog, he'd give Harry a proud smile in that moment. He nodded his head instead but then he got a big surprise.

"We know you're innocent!"

What? How? He'd not seen nor heard anything about him but him being a psychopathic escaped mass-murderer so how could he know that? Well, he could hardly ask now, could he? He transformed and watched as Harry watched avidly and Daphne watched worriedly. He decided he better do something to appease his girlfriend as he could neither defend himself and at this range, he'd not be able to dodge.

He held his hands up and said, "I'm not armed and there's a ward between us. You have nothing to worry about."

She didn't look totally convinced but after glancing at Harry, she did lower her wand just a bit.

He then looked back at Harry and asked, "How do you know that I'm innocent?"

"I read my parents' will, they said you weren't the secret keeper."

Finally! He knew that James and Lily wouldn't let him down. "Why isn't that out in the news then?"

Harry scowled as he answered. "Because Dumbledore sealed the will!"

Dumbledore? He'd been counting on help from that wanker! If Dumbledore had turned on him, no wonder he'd been abandoned in Azkaban. He had to grit his teeth together painfully to keep himself from venting, things were still much too fragile for that. He needed more information plus he'd have to see how Roxy and Cyrus reacted to him before he'd know if he could stay.

"Do Roxy and Cyrus know about that?"

"Yeah, both. Cyrus was with me when I read the will."

That was interesting, Cyrus had always seemed so standoffish but he seemed to get along well with Harry. Of course, Roxy would have had a hand in that to some extent.

He turned to Daphne and said, "You should get your parents over here. We need to talk." She looked so startled that at another time he might have smiled at the sight but not today.

"Mipsy!"

A house elf appeared and he found himself regarding her as curiously as she was regarding him.

"Mipsy, get mother and father. Tell them that Sirius Black is here."

The house elf looked frightened, "Sirius Black?"

Harry spoke up before he could explain he was harmless. "It's all right, he's my godfather. Just tell them to come or better yet, bring them here."

"Mipsy be right back!" The house elf quickly vanished.

He looked at Harry fondly as Harry looked back at him excitedly. He hoped that Harry had the right idea and he wasn't about to be shipped back to Azkaban.

* * *

Roxanne was discussing proper behaviour with Astoria towards her sister and her new boyfriend when they were interrupted by Mipsy Apparating near them. Before she got a chance to ask what was going on, Mipsy started talking excitedly.

"Mistress! Sirius Black is here! Miss Daphne is sending Mipsy to get you and master."

She gasped but managed to suppress any more expressions of surprise. She turned back to Astoria and firmly said, "You will stay here."

Astoria opened her mouth to protest but wilted under her mother's stern gaze as her mother stood up. "Yes, Mum."

She then turned to Mipsy and extended her hand, "Take me to Cyrus."

Cyrus seemed very surprised when they appeared in his den but before he could say anything she said, "Sirius Black is here and Daphne sent Mipsy for us. We have to go to them." She extended her hand to him and after only a momentary hesitation, he got up, took her hand and all three suddenly vanished from the room.

As soon as they hit the ground, Roxanne let go of both of them and pulled her wand but didn't aim it at anything as she oriented herself and saw Sirius with his hands held out, obviously empty. She'd seen that Cyrus had pulled his wand as well so she wasn't too worried. She wouldn't have worried about the Sirius she knew in school but this wasn't that Sirius. After nearly 12 years in Azkaban, she couldn't say she really knew him much at all.

They regarded each other for a few moments and since nobody else was speaking, she decided to start taking the measure of her former classmate.

"It's been a long time, Sirius."

"That it has, Roxy."

His voice was rough as if from disuse, which wasn't a surprise. He had called her by the same nickname as before, now for an identity/memory test. "Alice always said that you turn up at the strangest times."

Sirius smiled although it resembled a grimace somewhat. "We both know it was Marlene who said that."

Oh, bloody hell. Of all the tests she could have used, she had to use one that referred to Marlene. She felt like a git. "I'm sorry, I should have used something else as a test."

He seemed to shrug negligently as he said, "That was a long time ago."

Her regret grew as she saw the suffering in his eyes. It hadn't been that long ago for him, the pain was still there. "How are you?"

He seemed to sag a bit and he looked exhausted. "I've been better. I'm here because I wanted to find my godson, to protect him, to finally be there for him as his godfather."

So far, so good. He was acting a lot saner than she expected and she was impressed. The timing of all this still bothered her so the next question was obvious.

"Why now?"

"Because I saw Peter, the real traitor. He was going to be at Hogwarts with Harry. I had to get to him and protect him like I failed to do on that awful night." Sirius turned to look at Harry solemnly. "I know you were at the Dursleys, we're going to have to talk about that someday."

If he knew what she knew, it could be bad. Her revenge was already in progress and as a Black, he might appreciate what she was doing. Hopefully, she'd be able to convince him to settle for what she was doing as payback. There was a possibly more urgent matter, however.

"Where did you see Peter? We need him alive to get you free."

Sirius seemed taken aback for a moment but he recovered and responded. "I'll have to show you something, it's just another issue of the Daily Prophet." He slowly and carefully pulled a newspaper from his ratty clothing and Roxanne forced herself to remain calm, the last thing she wanted was to make this any tenser than it was. She'd seen Harry stiffen at the mention of the Dursleys and she still didn't know for certain how stable Sirius was.

She was surprised to see him reveal a picture of the Weasleys, it looked like the one where they had announced that they were the winners of the draw. Was Peter on some other page of that issue? Her confusion increased when he seemed to point to one of the sons. "He's right here, on the boy's shoulder. He's a rat Animagus."

She had two reactions to that. She'd never been real impressed with the magical abilities of Peter Pettigrew so Peter becoming an Animagus surprised her. However, she'd known that there was some other secret about the Marauders besides Remus' lycanthropy. Had the Marauders all been Animagi? Wait, could they have done that to help Remus? They might have been borderline bullies for part of their time in Hogwarts but they were also loyal to friends. It's something they would have done.

"Wait, does that mean you were the dog they were talking about?"

His big grin was all the answer she needed. "Is that how you escaped Azkaban?"

"That has a lot to do with it, yes. The dementors are less sensitive to animals, I also spent a lot of time as a dog and it helped keep me sane. Well, relatively sane, anyway, you probably never thought I was all that sane to begin with."

She was somewhat reassured that he could joke about that and things made more sense now. After nearly 12 years, she was amazed that he was alive at all, much less as sane as he seemed. However, she had two daughters to think of and although he seemed to care a lot for Harry, anything might happen in a moment of madness. On the other hand, leaving him out there as a wanted fugitive wasn't much of an option either. He looked dreadful, not only in health but in hygiene. How could she live with herself if she left him to his fate? What could they do?

"So, Lily never told you about us becoming Animagi?"

Bringing Lily into it just increased her feelings of guilt, she couldn't bear to turn him away. "No, she didn't. She did say there were some secrets that weren't hers to tell, that must be one of the things she was talking about."

Then she had a sudden thought, what about the old servants' quarters? They were separate from the house but what condition were they in? They'd never had a use for them and she had ignored the building. She did know the outside was maintained but what about the inside? She looked around and saw that Mipsy was still present and looking at Sirius curiously.

"Mipsy, has the inside of the servants' quarters been maintained?"

"Mipsy has been keeping them nice and tidy, Mistress."

"Does the plumbing work?"

"Mipsy is not knowing but Mipsy can fix if they not be working."

She was surprised to hear Harry's voice. "Dobby can help too."

Suddenly, the elf himself appeared, as eager as ever. "Dobby can help! How can Dobby be helping?" He stopped his excited chatter to stare at Sirius. He then turned to Harry and asked, "Who is raggy man?"

She tuned out the conversation between Harry and his house elf and realized that things were falling into place. She turned to look at Cyrus who was already looking at her. She knew what he was thinking so she just nodded at him. He quietly suggested, "One time access," and she nodded again.

* * *

Harry Potter had been on a roller coaster of emotions all morning. Now, seeing the dog again had been a relief but then it turned into astonishment when he learned it was an Animagus and then that it was his very own godfather that he'd been worrying about! He'd started to worry again when the Greengrass parents had their wands out but relaxed again when Roxanne had seemed friendly toward Sirius.

He was distracted momentarily by the mention of a Marlene and wondered if it was the girl in the picture. Then he realized that she must be the one they referred to as they both knew her. Why was Roxanne sorry for bringing her up though? Were Sirius and Marlene good friends? Wait, at that age, they might have been boyfriend/girlfriend. His heart sank at the thought of losing a girlfriend and he couldn't help looking at Daphne who was watching the adults but had taken his hand again and was beside him.

Then came another shock, Scabbers was an Animagus too?! No wonder that rat had seemed creepy to him but Harry remembered Ron's letter – Scabbers had run away. If it had been a normal rat, no big deal but now that he knew who it was it was more bad news. This wasn't the time to tell them though, things were tense and he had to make sure that Sirius got help.

Harry was puzzled by the discussion of servants' quarters, he'd seen the building and been satisfied with the explanation that they didn't use it. Why would they have servants' quarters when they had a house elf? Could this property have originally belonged to Muggles? He wondered about the separation they seemed to be planning but it was still helping Sirius. He wanted in on helping so he brought up Dobby.

Then his statement brought the elf himself and Harry was again distracted. He nearly laughed when Dobby asked about the 'raggy man'. "Dobby, this is my godfather, Sirius Black. He's going to be joining us and needs some help."

"What can Dobby do?"

That was a good question, what should he do? He looked at Sirius again and took stock of his condition. There wasn't much Dobby could do about his health or hygiene but it was obvious that Sirius needed new clothes. "Could you get him some new clothes?"

"Yes, Dobby can do!" The eager elf turned towards Sirius and a measuring tape suddenly appeared in his hand. Before Harry could react the elf had popped over by Sirius as he said, "Dogfather must stand still with his arms out!"

Sirius looked very surprised but he complied and suddenly the tape was whizzing around him like the one that Ollivander had in his shop. Harry decided to wait until things settled down to correct Dobby about who Sirius was to Harry. However, when the tape finished, both it and the elf vanished. Had he gone to get clothes already? They hadn't even had a chance to tell him what Sirius needed! Oh well, Dobby could make another trip If necessary.

"What was Dobby doing?"

Harry turned to Roxanne to answer her. "He went to get Sirius some clothes."

"Good, he needs them."

"Sirius, Cyrus will escort you through the wards to where you will stay. Daphne and Harry, you will come with me."

Harry was reluctant to be separated from Sirius so soon but Roxanne's manner brooked no argument. He and Daphne walked together to follow her mother while Cyrus approached the wards and Sirius. Harry took one quick look back before he had to concentrate on where he was going. Cyrus seemed to be approaching Sirius in a friendly manner so things were going well in his view.

* * *

Cyrus wondered when it was that he had decided to take in a wanted man that could put his family in a very embarrassing position if he was found here. The answer might just be 'when he married Roxanne', it was probably as good as any other. Roxanne had caused many changes in him and since she made him want to become a better person, he'd been at peace with the changes. For example, he hadn't considered himself to be a blood purist but she had shown him his prejudices and he had done his best to eradicate them.

Now he found himself compromising his family's vaunted neutrality but only partially due to his wife, his eldest was indirectly demanding it. On the other hand, if he could help the new Lord Black prove his innocence and resume the life he should have had, it would be quite the coup for the family. Although his father had been on pleasant enough terms with the Blacks to attend their parties and to invite them to his, there had never been any formal alliance. Given their currently aligned interests, an alliance was finally possible. Another advantage occurred to him, if he had to negotiate with House Potter then Sirius could advise him and that would be much more appropriate than putting his wife in a compromising position.

Despite the many losses the Black family had suffered from their membership and despite the choices of one his cousins, the Blacks were still a powerful, well established and very rich family. An alliance would be very valuable and Cyrus had to content himself with that as his motivation, at least the one he'd share. Despite his training to be dispassionate when making familial decisions, one could not look at the shell of a man that Sirius had become and not be moved. Privately, he could admit to himself that he felt an obligation to help the man, even partially for it to be aid to Harry Potter as well.

Besides his wife's publically stated objectives, he had some of his own, he had to take his own measure of this man.

"We have three layers of protections; I have to take you through two of them to get you to your destination. You can leave anytime you wish but to re-enter any of the wards, you must have the aid of either my wife or myself. Do not attempt to do so yourself." The fact that Harry or his daughters could also do that was something he decided to withhold for now, he'd have to be surer of the man before giving him an easier to manipulate proxy.

Black smirked at him and said, "I'd expect nothing less."

Cyrus reached through the wards with his left hand, leaving his right empty but he could have his wand back in his hand in an instant from the concealed wand holder. When Sirius grasped his hand he said, "Sirius Black is a guest of House Greengrass and may enter at this time."

He pulled him through and made sure he had his balance after stepping over the fence as he noticed that Sirius tended to favour his right foot. "What happened to your foot?"

"I got a cut from the rocks during my escape. It hasn't had a chance to properly heal."

"I'll have to have Roxanne check it out, she's better at healing than I am. We'll get you a nutritive potion as well, you need it. Did you have any trouble with the ward?"

"No, I sensed it before I got to it and never touched it."

That really piqued his interest. "Is that a natural ability?"

Sirius gave him a tight smile before answering. "No, I was taught by my father."

Family magic then, he had best change the subject. "It seems that we have some aligned interests, Lord Black."

He paused and looked at Sirius curiously when he had abruptly stopped and looked at him in astonishment. Then Sirius barked out a self-deprecating laugh and said, "You are misinformed, Lord Greengrass. I don't know who has or will have the headship of the Blacks but it certainly won't be a disowned son."

"I checked on it after the reading of the Potter will, the goblins are quite certain that you are Lord Black and they are notoriously thorough when making such determinations. I don't know if you were formally disowned and reinstated or never formally disowned but you are recognized as Lord Black."

"But my life sentence…"

"You were never convicted by a court so you were never stripped of any titles. I checked that too. You were held under an order by former Minister Bagnold and the legality of your indeterminate incarceration is debatable. It's one of the points in our favour of getting you free. We'll have to work towards recovering Pettigrew, which will also help."

That earned him an appraising look from the newly-informed Lord Black. "What do you want for your assistance?"

"I am not asking anything from you, I offer my aid freely and without reservation. If the relationship between my daughter and your godson becomes permanent, we may find ourselves allied anyway."

Sirius nodded his agreement and they then continued on their walk side by side. Cyrus had one other issue to bring up though. "How did you find us?"

Sirius chuckled and then admitted, "It wasn't easy, I was walking back and forth across Norfolk hoping that I'd get lucky. If I hadn't heard a remark by my grandfather, I'd never would have had any idea where to look."

"Ah, Arcturus Black, I guess I should have known. The Blacks were always good at ferreting out secrets."

They continued in amicable silence as they continued on their way. Cyrus did not give any indication when they approached the second ward but would warn Sirius if they got too near. However, that proved unnecessary as Sirius stopped and smirked at Cyrus before saying, "We're almost to the next ward."

He remained stoic as he said, "Indeed we are." He again offered his hand and said the same thing as they passed through the ward. He was surprised by what Sirius said next.

"That one was stronger and nastier."

That was interesting; he detected not just the presence but the nature of wards, a very useful skill. He then began to wonder if his new guest was as helpless as he'd been thinking. Could Sirius Black perform wandless magic? It was best for his family that he should assume that he could, one must not underestimate a potential adversary.

They reached the servants' quarters so he had to concentrate on getting Sirius acclimated for now. He tried the door and it was not locked. They entered a hallway with four doors and he turned to address Sirius.

"There are four apartments within this building, basically all the same. You can use any one you want or even more than one if you wish, we have never used this building as Mipsy prefers to live with us. Do you have a preference?"

Sirius shrugged and opened the door nearest to him and they entered a small room with a bed, easy chair, desk with chair, a door to a closet and a small en suite bathroom. When Cyrus saw that Sirius gave the shower a longing look, he decided to keep things as short as he could.

"I have begun teaching Harry about his future responsibilities as the Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble House. As you are his godfather, I will leave that to you and Harry whether those should continue."

Sirius gave him a nod and a serious look. "I appreciate that you offered to do that and I hope and prefer that you would continue. You have experience which I lack and my training was cut short due to my… self-imposed exile from my family home."

"I would be glad to continue, Harry is an eager and able student and he has learned a lot already. Speaking of training, perhaps you could show him how you detect wards as that could be helpful to him."

"Certainly, I have a lot of things I'd like to teach him. Maybe I'll even tell him how the Blacks operated as a family, which might give him some insight." Sirius sighed and then continued. "My cousin might just be mad but she insisted that Voldemort was still around." Sirius paused to look at him seriously. "Do you know anything?"

So now he must be the bearer of bad tidings, he saw no reason to delay. "Harry can tell you a lot about that, he has fought Riddle, which is Voldemort's real name, twice now and defeated him both times."

Sirius looked aghast. "WHAT?!"

"He's been reduced to a spirit but he's trying to regain a body. He can't seem to be killed now so he will probably eventually regain a body and the war will start again."

Sirius collapsed into the easy chair and moaned as he rubbed his face in frustration. He then gave Cyrus a steady look. "Where will you stand when that happens?"

"I will stand with Heir Potter and hopefully Lord Black. I would see this threat removed from our world for my family and our shared future. I will not see my daughters threatened by a madman. I have more to share about what is going on but I think this is a talk for another time."

Sirius nodded in understanding. "I look forward to that time and I will be glad to stand with you against anyone who threatens our world."

"Good. Just one last thing before I allow you to rest and wash up. I hope that you understand with three children to protect, I must take precautions with someone I don't know and who might not be as stable as normal."

The mirthless laugh was not reassuring at first but then he relaxed when it became obvious that Sirius took no offense. "I would be disappointed if you didn't take precautions, especially with my godson involved. I swear I have no ill intent towards you or your family. I also have fond memories of being a student with your wife. However, I recognize that I am far from normal right now. In fact, while we are discussing this, I think you should put a silencing ward around this apartment." Sirius stopped briefly with a sheepish look and then added, "I have nightmares. I sometimes scream."

Cyrus didn't know how to respond so he decided to keep things business-like. "I will see to it. Before I leave though, Mipsy!"

The elf popped in and asked, "Yes, Master?"

"Does the plumbing work?"

"Yes, Master. Mipsy checked all four apartments and everything works."

"Very good, Mipsy. Thank you and you may return to your regular duties."

Mipsy responded with a gasp of pleasure and a shy nod before popping away.

He saw Sirius giving him a curious look so Cyrus responded, "That's something I learned from Harry. He treats his elf like a person, I'm trying to do the same."

"The Black elf was a mad thing. Even a hyper one like Dobby is an improvement in my eyes."

"All right. I'll see to the ward then. I'm sure that Roxanne will check on you later and you are invited to dinner in the house. I'll come to get you, unless you'd prefer to remain here."

"No. I'd like some company and I'll do my best to be good company."

"I imagine that Harry will want to visit you also. For now, clean up and relax and I'll see you later."

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass. I'll remember this."

The handshake was firm and his gaze was forthright. Cyrus was sure he'd gotten some goodwill with the future Lord Black and that was an accomplishment. However, that didn't seem to be what made him feel good at that moment. He hid it all behind his stoic mask as he exited the apartment and saw to putting up a silencing ward.

A/N3: Just in case anyone was wondering what prompted me to write this story series, here are the two questions that inspired them. First, what if Harry had befriended someone outside his canon friends and that person inspired him to try harder and become his own man? That question came to me while I was reading Shygui's A Fateful Walk so naturally, the new friend became Daphne. The second question was: what if the adults in his life were smart/observant enough to aid him in his struggle?

A/N4: I am posting this chapter now to prove that I am still working on this story. However, the story is not ready for regular posting yet and even though it is not finished, it is already longer than the first story. I don't know when I can start regular posting so this may be the only chapter you see for quite a while.


	2. The Dogfather

Chapter 2 The Dogfather

A/N: Here is chapter 2, further proof that I'm still working on this series. Again, special thanks to my beta Shygui and thanks to all who read and especially those who review.

Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough. - Earl Wilson

Roxanne entered the house having passed through two wards with nary a thought, unlike Sirius. When she entered the sitting room with Harry and Daphne still behind her, she saw Astoria, suspiciously trying to look like she was doing nothing. When she saw that her omnioculars had been moved, she gave her youngest a flat stare which elicited some fidgeting and a slight blush. She decided she had made her point and indicated that Harry and Daphne should take a seat on the sofa beside Astoria while she took a chair facing them.

"Now that Harry and Daphne are boyfriend and girlfriend, there are some rules that must be followed." She saw Astoria smirking towards Harry and her sister but decided to put that off until later. "Harry and Daphne, you are not to be alone together behind a closed door. Is that clear?"

Harry blushed furiously but Daphne handled it much better as they both quickly nodded assent. She had already warned Daphne but now Harry was officially on notice as well.

"With that said, I want you both to know that Cyrus and I approve of your relationship. We just want to make sure nothing happens before you two are ready for it. The relationship between couples takes some work and patience, you must both be ready to learn and compromise. We want you both to be happy and we hope this can become a long-term relationship but that is up to the two of you. We will give either of you advice if you want it. We also promise to objective in any advice we give you, Harry."

Astoria looked ready to snicker at the suddenly quiet pair but Roxanne turned to her youngest before she could react further. "Astoria, I expect you to be supportive of your sister and you will not harass Harry. Is that clear?"

Her serious stare had Astoria straightening up and clearing her face of all mirth. "Yes, Mother."

"I know that at your age that having a boyfriend might seem amusing and like a game but I assure you that although it can be a lot of fun, it also takes effort. I've been warning you about flirting with every boy you meet and that can get you into trouble at Hogwarts."

Astoria now looked very attentive and serious. "I understand, Mother. I've been teasing about it, that's all. I assure you that I know to be careful. I heard what you and Daphne have said about some boys and I promise to be careful. I also promise that I will heed any advice that Daphne may offer about certain boys at Hogwarts. I don't want to make a mistake, I promise."

That satisfied Roxanne on the dating issue, now it was time for another. "Now that Lord Black is here…." She saw Astoria's eyes open wide and noted a more muted surprise from Daphne while Harry only looked curious so she paused and changed tack slightly.

"Cyrus checked and Gringotts recognizes Sirius as Lord Black. You will both treat him as such. With that said, Sirius has been in Azkaban for nearly 12 years and exposure to dementors for that long takes a toll on a person. You will not startle him nor will you visit him without an adult with you. We do not consider him dangerous under normal circumstances otherwise we would not have allowed him within our wards. However, he will remain outside the wards around our house most of the time. Only Cyrus or I will escort him through the ward and into the house, is that clear?"

Both girls nodded quick assent, Harry was slower to agree and looked very thoughtful.

"Harry, did you have a question?"

"Is there a way to help him with that?"

"I'm not a healer so I am not sure. I know chocolate is useful immediately after exposure to a dementor but he has been loose for… almost two weeks I guess. I'm not sure that would help anymore. I assure you that I will discretely check with some healers I know and try to find out. However most wizards and witches consider him an escaped homicidal maniac so we obviously have to be very careful. I assure you that we want to help him. He was a classmate of mine and we became friendlier once your parents got together. I was one of Lily's best friends and Sirius was one of her husband's best friends. I care about Sirius so we will try to help him and to get him freed. We will have to be patient though."

Harry nodded his understanding but he looked so sad that she felt bad for him. "You can visit him and I'm sure he will join us for some meals. You can get to know him as we try to make him well. Some things take time and I'm sure his recovery will be one of those things."

Harry seemed to be reassured and she was pleased to see a sympathetic look from Astoria and that Daphne was holding his hand and keeping close to him with her compassion quite evident. She knew her daughters would come through for her and be supportive. The closeness evident between the members of the new couple was very reassuring too. Cyrus and she had not gotten close this young yet the bond between these two seemed to be progressing as quickly as theirs had at a greater age. If they didn't have a bond, she began to wonder if their compatibility would last through five more years of schooling. If it did though, she was sure they would be a couple that would last a lifetime.

* * *

Daphne silently led Harry outside, keeping a tight grip on his hand. As soon as they were far enough from the door and not near a window she felt they had privacy enough. "I'm glad this is all out in the open now and we don't have to hide anything while we are here. Are you OK?"

Harry's smile was reassuring but his eyes still were a little troubled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I am a little worried about Sirius though."

"We all are and you heard my mother, they will look after him and he will get help. He's protected here and nobody will look for him here, he's safe."

His smile grew and his eyes showed more of a good mood as well.

"So, I said I would show you where the house wards were so I'll do that now. We have a flower bed at each corner of the ward; I'll show you from the one closest to where Sirius will be."

She led him there still walking side by side but they were so close that her hand brushed against him occasionally, which she found to be exciting and reassuring at the same time. When they arrived, she spoke again.

"The outer edges of the ward are right on the outer edges of the garden here. You can see the servants' quarters there." She pointed and realized they were about half of the way from the house to the quarters. She then looked the other way and realized the area they were free to wander would not go as far as they were accustomed to. "We'll have to stay closer than we used to during our evening walks."

"That's OK, the alone time is the important part."

She glanced towards the house before she answered, they'd be able to find enough privacy for what she was going to bring up. "And the kissing and hugging, don't forget that."

Harry's huge blush made her smile wider, she loved the effect she had on him and it was only fair since he had such an effect on her. Their moment was shattered by the arrival of Dobby holding a wrapped package.

"Dobby has the clothes for Harry Potter Sir's Dogfather!"

"That's godfather, Dobby. What exactly do you have?"

"Dobby has formal robes in black, underthingies and socks."

"What about shoes?"

"Shoes? Bad Dobby! Dobby forgot shoes!" He nearly hit himself with his fist but stopped and gave Harry an embarrassed look.

"Dobby, what did I tell you about when you make a mistake?"

"That Dobby says sorry and it be over, Dobby remembers. Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter Sir."

"Good, that's over and you try to do better. Now, instead of running off for shoes, I want you to take what you have to Sirius. He's over there." He pointed to the servants' quarters and then looked back at Dobby, who was watching him attentively. "Then ask him what else he needs and then go get it. OK, Dobby?"

As the elf nodded eagerly, he continued. "Now, before you go I just wanted to say that it is OK with me if you spend time with Mipsy. You should have some fun too."

"It is OK with Master for Dobby to spend time with Mipsy? Dobby has the best master ever!" Then the excited elf suddenly slumped in despair. "But Dobby not be knowing if Mipsy's master be OK with spending time with Dobby!"

Daphne saw that it was her turn to reassure the eager little elf. "My parents are fine with you spending time with Mipsy, Dobby. It's fine with all of us."

Dobby gaped at her before saying, "Sir's missy is a great witch! Dobby so happy! Thank you, Mistress!"

Harry had to suppress laughter. "OK, then. Spend some time with her after you finish with my godfather, OK?"

"OK, Harry Potter Sir! Dobby take good care of Sir's Dogfather!" Dobby disappeared with a pop before Harry could say anything.

"Umm, that's godfather, Dobby, godfather."

Harry's muttered correction struck her as so funny that she couldn't help laughing and then decided she couldn't ignore this chance to tease him either. "Harry Potter, the matchmaker! Is that going to be your job when you leave Hogwarts, Harry?"

Harry gave her a sour look before replying. "Very funny, Daphne. Are you going to be a comedienne?"

She felt obligated to tease him aback. "Is that even a job?" After a moment where he shrugged she stepped into him and gave him a hug with her face close to his. At that moment, it struck her that she was looking up at him but she distinctly remembered looking down on him when he'd arrived for the summer. So, the potion really worked as he'd definitely had a growth spurt but she had something else in mind for right now. "If I hurt your feelings, I could make it up to you." Her mouth was too busy to smile but she was gratified that this time, he had kissed her.

* * *

When Cyrus closed the door, Sirius took another look around the room, considering what he had available to him. Compared to Azkaban and his time on the run, this was like a palace to him. He was tempted to take a nap, he was still feeling tired but getting clean sounded very good to him in that moment. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to wash; he didn't count being sprayed with water by the guards and he hated to think what he'd look like under these ratty clothes. He hoped that Dobby was fast as once he was clean, he wouldn't want to put on these filthy rags again.

He put his two newspapers on the desk, he didn't have much and kept them for some reason he couldn't name. He then shuffled his way into the bathroom and took off his clothes. He had become inured to how he smelled but apparently the clothes had obscured his scent a bit as he could tell he reeked. How had Cyrus been able to be in the same room as him? His eyes were starting to burn and this was his own smell!

The shower felt good but strange, he was so unaccustomed to cleaning up that it seemed bizarre. Then he noticed that the soap was scented, it seemed a strange extravagance that he might have once taken as a matter of course. The shampoo felt good in his hair too. However, once he had dried off, he found that he was itchy. Maybe his skin was not accustomed to being clean anymore?

He stared at himself in the mirror and was tempted to turn away. He was white as a ghost, his beard and hair were unkempt and he was so thin you could see the contours of his skull. So much for being a ladies' man. He'd be hard pressed to find a woman who could look at him without cringing. Well, a woman interested in being with him anyway, Roxy had managed to look at him without any negative reaction.

He had two towels so he put one around his waist for some modesty and put the other around his shoulders. He kicked his old clothes out of his way but wished he could vanish them instead and slowly walked barefoot into the main room of the apartment and eased himself into the easy chair. Even sitting in a proper chair felt like a luxury to him now.

He took a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh and began to ponder what had happened to him that day and what he had learned. He felt very lucky, what had happened was pretty much the best case scenario, only his limited access to Harry being a negative. However, he could understand their caution and could support it despite his disappointment as Harry's safety was more important than his happiness.

Roxy had been much like he expected although it was somewhat surprising to him about how maternal she had become but having children will do that to you. He remembered her more as the I-won't-take-any-of-your-crap Slytherin. They'd never targeted her as James wanted all of Lily's friends off the table as pranking targets from early on, except Snivellus of course. She hadn't given them any reason to target her either. She didn't bully and didn't put up with those who did – even in her own house and he respected that.

The more interesting person had been Cyrus. He'd never spent much time with him, the wedding of his friend James was probably the most contact he'd had with the man ever. His distant manner was still there but his willingness to do something with no promise of recompense was new to him. Roxy must have changed him but a good woman will do that to you. He'd seen the same thing with his almost-brother James, Lily had quite the impact on him.

On the other hand, Cyrus had a point about their currently aligned interests and if his pup did marry his daughter, they'd basically have a familial alliance. Cyrus probably was well aware he'd feel obligated to the man for his help while he was in desperate need. He owed Cyrus and they both knew it, why bother with a promise under those circumstances?

He was starting to get sleepy when a house elf popped in and startled him badly. "Dobby has clothes for Dogfather but Dobby forgot shoes. What else is Dogfather needing?"

He took a moment to recover himself, surprises bothered him more than they did before. "That depends on what you have there for me, Dobby."

"Dobby be having black dress robes with underthingies and socks."

He considered for a moment before answering. "Right. I'll need casual robes in dark grey, two more pairs of underwear and socks, dress black shoes, casual shoes, make them brown and slippers, I'd love some soft slippers." He scratched his chin and added, "I'll also need a shaving kit."

"Anything else, Dogfather Sir?"

"Pyjamas would be good too. That's it."

"Dobby will measure your feets and Dobby will get it all for Dogfather Sir."

After a quick measuring of his feet, the elf was gone again. Well, he certainly was an efficient little guy and much friendlier than the Black elf, Kreacher.

He was reluctant to sleep now as he was hoping for visitors so he gathered what Dobby had brought and got dressed in the bathroom. It felt good to be in clean clothes but he looked much too scruffy. He had just stepped out of the bathroom when a different elf popped in with a glass with what looked like a potion, which again forced him to regather his wits. "Mipsy has nutritive potion from Master. Mipsy also needs to know what Lord Black wants for lunch."

"Something light. Do you have soup?"

"Mipsy will have soup for Lord Black. Would Lord Black like anything else?"

"Some toast would be good too."

"Mipsy will be back later with lunch. Mistress will be visiting you soon." The elf then popped out after leaving the potion on his desk. He sniffed it and it actually smelled appetizing so he drank it. The after taste wasn't quite as good but not too bad for a potion. After a few minutes of relaxation, he began to feel full, the potion seemed to be working. He was starting to feel sleepy again when he heard a knock on the outside door. He hurried in his stocking feet to get the door and saw Roxy waiting for him.

"Hi, Roxy. I'm in the first one on the right." He led the way into the apartment and settled in the easy chair again while Roxy sat on the corner of the bed nearest him after she had scanned the room.

"How is the room, do you have everything you need?"

"I'll be good as soon as Dobby returns. I still need shoes and a change of clothes but he's working on that right now."

She glanced at the empty glass on his desk and asked, "You got the nutritive potion already?"

"Yes, I think it's helping already."

"Good. Potions are the Greengrass business so we have everything you might need. For instance, you may need potions to settle your stomach until you are accustomed to normal meals. I imagine you didn't get much to eat in Azkaban."

"They discontinued the gourmet meals at Azkaban so you're probably right. I ordered a light lunch."

Roxy narrowed her eyes at him momentarily but then she looked around as if looking for something but then looked him straight in the eye. "I think it will save us both a lot of time if I just come right out and say what I need to say. You can be blunt right back, I won't be offended."

He tried to make his reply light but probably missed the mark. "This doesn't sound good."

Her grin was fleeting before she said, "Cyrus told me about the silencing ward."

Blunt it is then. She really meant she knew about the nightmares, of course. He merely nodded and let her get on with it.

"I've learned some healing, I had to with two children but I don't know what to do for you. I don't know how to treat long term stress much less long term exposure to dementors but I am going to do my best to find someone who can help you. I know some healers and I will make very discrete inquiries. I don't know how long it will take as we obviously can't risk telling the wrong person about you."

She paused so just to let her know he was fine with that he said, "I appreciate that."

She nodded back to him before speaking again. "Cyrus also told me you have an injured foot, can I take a look?"

He'd looked at it himself after the shower, the wound was closed and didn't look infected but it still hurt and was still red. He removed his sock and let her take a look at the cut. She looked appalled.

"You've been walking on that all over England?"

"I didn't have much choice, walking is all I could do."

She gave him an exasperated look and huffed at him before taking out her wand and casting some spells at it. He held still as she concentrated on the results.

"You're lucky it isn't infected. It isn't fully healed so I want to try a simple healing spell. Does it still hurt?"

He merely nodded in response.

"In that case I'll add a numbing charm at the end." She cast two spells at his foot and it did stop hurting. He also couldn't feel it, like it was asleep or something.

"If you need a pain potion, let me know. Now, we have to be careful about dreamless sleep potion. I can only give it to you two nights in a row, every third night is safer. Do you want one tonight?"

He hated admitting weakness but he needed sleep so he swallowed his pride and nodded his head yes.

"I'll have Mipsy bring you one tonight then. Do you feel up to joining us for dinner?"

"Yes, please."

She smirked at him. "Look at you, getting all polite in your old age."

He gave her a mock scowl. "Old? We're the same age!"

"Perhaps, but I look younger than you."

"Azkaban will do that to you."

She grimaced and he realized she was taking his response wrong. "Sorry, that was supposed to be witty. I guess I'll blame my dark humour on Azkaban too."

She huffed at him again but looked to be in better spirits. "Despite our caution, we are on your side, Sirius. Harry has been concerned about you since he learned you had escaped and even more when he found out you were innocent. Your godson is a fine young man and Cyrus and I are pleased that Daphne has chosen him as her first boyfriend. We're hoping it lasts."

"She seems to be good for him too, she's certainly protective. I thought for sure she was going to hex me when she found out I wasn't just a dog."

"That's Daphne for you. When she cares about someone, she's fiercely loyal. She's protecting her best friend from the troublesome Slytherins too. Her friend is a half-blood from a minor house and they look down on her for that. The Greengrass family status allows her to protect her from direct harassment."

"She sounds like her mother's daughter then."

She smirked at him, "Flattery?"

He shook his head as he answered. "No, just fact."

She nodded at him and then spoke again. "We have a lot to talk about but I think it will be best to do it with the four of us…." She paused for a moment and then corrected herself. "Make that five of us. I'm sure Daphne will want to be included and Harry will probably want her there anyway. We can do it after dinner, unless you don't feel up to it."

"I'll be there. I've not been there for too long, I won't do that anymore."

She gave him a small smile. "That's what I'd expect from you. When you weren't busy pranking, you could be a caring person."

Sirius snorted and said, "Hey, don't go ruining my reputation."

She rolled her eyes then asked, "Do you need anything else?"

"Do you have something for itching?"

"I can get you a cream for that."

She gave him a genuine smile and then got up as she spoke again. "I'll let you rest for now. Cyrus will come for you when it's time for dinner. I'll see you then."

"Thanks again, Roxy."

"Don't mention it, Sirius."

She let herself out and he stared after her in thought. Sometimes she seemed just like she'd been at Hogwarts and sometimes she was a mother. Who knows, maybe he'd seem like his old self at times and different at others. Even he had to grow up someday and now he owed it to Harry to be the godfather he deserved. He swore to himself that he'd get up to speed as quickly as he could and pull his own weight. Waiting on others to do something wasn't the Black way and he was enough of a Black not to allow that to happen.

His fatigue caught up to him again after he'd finished thinking about Roxy and he decided to lie down and see if he could take a nap. He took off the outer robe, which seemed too good for him to be laying on and settled onto the bed. He must have fallen asleep because he came awake when he heard a house elf pop in. Again, he had force himself to calm down.

He sat up to see a contrite Dobby peering at him. "Did Dobby wake up Dogfather Sir?"

"That's alright, Dobby. I was only resting. You can put everything in the closet except the dress shoes, I want to try those on."

Dobby gave him the shoes then busied himself in the closet. Sirius put the shoes on and was surprised at how well they fit. Despite the speed of the measurements, they'd apparently been accurate anyway. He looked up to see the attentive elf watching him.

"You did well, Dobby. These shoes fit perfectly, thank you."

"Dobby is proud to serve Master's Dogfather."

Before he could respond, a second elf appeared with a tray. He was amused when the two elves exchanged shy looks and they both blushed. Now that was something he'd not seen before, he hadn't realized that elves could blush.

"Mipsy has your lunch, Lord Black."

"Master's Dogfather is being a lord? Dobby was not knowing that!"

"It's OK, Dobby. I don't like putting on airs, Dogfather is fine."

Mipsy gave him an odd look so he just winked at her and she looked startled. She seemed to recover and asked, "Does Lord Black need anything else from Mipsy?"

"No, I'm fine now, thank you. Perhaps you two have something you could do together."

He had said that to see what their reaction would be and got another surprise. Mipsy blushed and cut her eyes towards Dobby as she said, "Would Dobby like that?"

Dobby nodded his head so enthusiastically that his ears flopped and she spoke again. "Then Dobby should follow Mipsy." She giggled, gave him a significant look and they popped away nearly simultaneously. Well, that was something else he'd never seen before, who knew that house elves could also flirt?

* * *

That afternoon, Harry was not handling waiting until dinner to see Sirius again very well. He knew that his godfather needed rest, food, new clothes and a bath and not necessarily in that order. However, waiting was still a skill that he was working on.

When they turned to his books for something to do, he wasn't very motivated to read the Potter Grimoire as the old English was tough to read. He also wished he could get away with the creative spelling he'd seen in that book on his essays. Daphne prodded him to look at the Peverell book even though it forced her to look away from the blazing glow it had for her. He was going to push back but then he realized that the Arithmancy workbook his mother had been working on might be relevant.

He got them both out and compared the first pages of both books and got excited when he saw they matched. All of the equations in the Peverell book were also printed on the top half of the first page of the workbook and seemed to be all written by one hand. He'd noticed previously that the page in the workbook seemed to have been written by two different people as the notes written around the equations looked different. He quickly got out the Marauder book written by his father and was convinced the equations had been copied to the workbook by his father. He already knew that the other writing was by his mother as he'd compared it to her journals. They had been working on this together!

Since there was nothing more for him to do with the Peverell book, he covered it so he could more easily show Daphne what he had figured out. "Daphne, come here, I figured something out!"

She looked excited. "You figured out the Arithmancy?"

"No, you know I've only just begun with that but I discovered that my parents were working on this together. You see these equations written here?" He motioned with his finger around the equations copied by his father. "Notice that these notes written around them are in a different hand? I already figured out that they were written by my Mum. The original equations were copied from the Peverell book to this notebook by my father so my Mum could read them. My mum was helping him!"

Daphne's smile faded as she said, "I wish I could help you but I don't know much more Arithmancy than you do. My mother could help though."

"Do you think she'd be willing to do that?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? I got my curiosity from my mother. She'll _want_ to help and you won't even have to ask."

He couldn't help but smile back when she was smiling at him. Then he seemed to get lost in her eyes for a few moments and broke away, blushing. His blushing got a little worse when he heard what she said next.

"It's OK for you to look at me, you know. I kind of like it."

"I have to get used to that. I don't want to be creepy or anything."

She chuckled before answering, "It's not creepy, besides I like looking at you too."

He cut his eyes towards her and sure enough, she was watching him. His blush was renewed so he grabbed one of his mother's journals for something to look at. He'd been disappointed to see negative references to his father in her early journals although there was the very occasional favourable entry, usually about what he had done with transfiguration. It's just that he wondered how they got together when his father had been making such a negative impression on his mother early on at Hogwarts. That was probably a good question for his godfather, he'd know if anyone did.

He got more comfortable when they settled down to read the journal together and made comments to each other about what they were learning about Hogwarts back then and his parents in particular. Daphne really loved it when there was a reference to her mother, although there were few of those at first. Harry had to keep reminding himself to focus on the journal and not how close Daphne was. Maybe it was good that they didn't sit together in classes, she'd be a powerful distraction that would be difficult for him to resist.

* * *

Sirius awoke to find himself thrashing in his bed and clutching at his bedclothes as if he was trying to strangle them. He forced himself to relax and slowly calmed himself down. He had managed a couple of naps and felt a little more rested. He also noticed that his stomach didn't feel like an empty hollow like he was accustomed to it feeling. Between the potion and his lunch, he didn't feel hungry.

He got up as he knew he'd get no more sleep for now, he was always too restless after awakening from a nightmare. He realized that it was late in the afternoon judging by the sun so he best try to make himself presentable for dinner. He wandered into the bathroom and was puzzled when he couldn't find a shaving kit but then he remembered that he'd told the elf to 'put everything in the closet'.

Sure enough, he found a shaving kit on a shelf in the closet. He also found his slippers and they certainly looked soft – and fluffy – and pink. In fact, a very bright pink. What the hell? Daft elf. Once he got his hands on a wand he'd change the colour, anything but pink!

As he studied himself in the mirror, he was tempted to shave off his beard entirely, especially since he saw streaks of grey but he'd always liked to have a bit of facial hair. He decided to leave a van dyke style beard as he didn't see any grey streaks in that area. It took more care and time than he'd expected as his hands were not as steady as when he'd last shaved but he managed to make himself look pretty good – for a dangerously thin pale guy.

His hair now tended to hang in his eyes since it wasn't plastered down with dirt as it had normally been. He carefully used his shaver to cut off enough from in front so that the issue was minimized. He still needed a trim and his hair was pretty much a fright but it was the best he could do for now. He decided that if he was going to give a good impression, he'd have to wear his formal robes and dress shoes as they, at least, looked good despite the unkempt man wearing them.

He was getting bored and wishing for something to read when he heard someone enter the building. He got up and was almost to the door when he heard someone knocking so he opened it to find Cyrus waiting for him.

"Lord Greengrass."

Cyrus was as stoic as normal but he did see a hint of humour in his eyes. "How about we dispense with the formalities, I'll be Cyrus and you'll be Sirius."

He couldn't help but grin, perhaps Cyrus was not as unlike him as he'd thought. "Sounds like a plan, Cyrus."

They had to go through the same procedure as before with a ward nearer the house and he noticed that this was even nastier. It also had a unique signature like the other two. Anyone trying to get to the Greengrasses would have to get through three separate and distinct wards that get progressively more aggressive. Even Voldemort and his merry band of misfits would have trouble getting in here.

When he saw the rest lined up for formal greetings in the dining room, he nearly groaned. Well, time to dust off his pureblood manners and put them to use, as much as they annoyed him. He quirked an eyebrow at Roxanne when he saw her smirking at him.

"Welcome to our home, Lord Black."

As she gave him a small curtsy, he bowed over her hand and brushed his lips to a knuckle. "Thank you for the invitation, Lady Greengrass."

"This is a one-time thing for courtesy's sake. First, I introduce you to my eldest, the Heiress Daphne Greengrass."

He was impressed as Daphne looked him in the eye without any reaction as she curtsied, held out her hand and greeted him. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Black."

He bowed over her hand but didn't get his head as near to her hand as with her mother. He also decided to throw in a little teasing to see her reaction. "It is my pleasure to meet you, Heiress Greengrass. I trust my godson is treating you well."

That got a hint of a blush from the young lady. "He has been a gentleman at all times with me, Lord Black."

"I am pleased to hear that. Since we will be neighbours, we shouldn't be so formal. Please call me Sirius."

"Very well, Sirius. Please call me Daphne."

"Of course, Daphne."

He stepped up to a smaller girl and although she resembled her sister somewhat her hair was darker, this one was new to him and Roxanne introduced them.

"Sirius, this is our youngest, Miss Astoria Greengrass."

He could tell she was trying but her eyes were bigger than normal and her tone was nervous.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Black." She gave a somewhat awkward curtsy and blushed so he decided to make this easier on her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Greengrass. From now on, let's make this easier and I'll call you Astoria and you can call me Sirius."

"Of course, S-Sirius."

The poor thing needed the attention off of her so he stepped forward and grinned at Harry. Harry was fighting a smile and did fairly well.

"It is a pleasure to formally meet you, Lord Black."

Sirius was impressed, Harry had given the correct bow and had not immediately offered his hand, a minor point many young men missed. He stuck his hand out as he said, "This is our first formal greeting, Heir Potter. However, we've met often before even though you won't remember. Call me Sirius, Harry."

"Of course, Sirius."

They were grinning at each other until Roxanne spoke up again. "Let's head to the table then, shall we?"

She took the chair at one end while her daughters sat next to her. Harry sat next to Daphne and then Sirius found himself between Harry and Cyrus. Obviously, there was nobody across from Harry or Sirius. He had something at his place setting the others didn't have, a small cup of potion. Before he could ask, Roxanne spoke again.

"That's a potion to settle your stomach. You should be able to have a normal sized meal with that. It's best to take it before you eat."

He gave her an acknowledging nod and downed the potion.

* * *

Harry finally got to see Sirius again and he was bursting with enthusiasm until the awkward introduction between Sirius and Astoria. He took another look at his godfather and had to admit, he still looked a little wild and unhealthy. He was so unbearably thin and his hair reminded him a little of Hermione's but even worse than that. On the other hand, he was out of the rags, his beard was trimmed and he was clean, he was making progress already.

His concerns were brushed aside as he got to share a handshake and talk with his godfather. He was almost disappointed when Roxanne got them moving to the table but at least he got to sit next to his godfather. He didn't miss the continuing looks that Astoria gave Sirius, she was certainly uncomfortable around him and he hoped for both of their sakes that she'd get over it.

The dinner started out with an awkward silence that he didn't know how to break. He had a ton of questions but wasn't sure which ones were appropriate for the dinner table. He was relieved when Roxanne brought up some mutual acquaintances with Sirius and she caught him up on people they both knew. She gave her condolences about a brother that Sirius had that he'd never heard of. He was sorry to hear that but didn't join in as he didn't know any of the people they discussed.

During a silence he decided to ask one of the questions that had come up earlier that day. "I got my mother's journals from the Potter artefacts vault and I was wondering how they got together because my father didn't seem to make a good impression on her at first."

Harry smiled as that got a chuckle from his godfather. "I think Roxanne would probably be able to give you more of an idea of what your mother thought of your father than I could. They didn't start out well, that's for sure. I seem to recall the phrase 'arrogant toe-rag', isn't that about right, Roxanne?"

Harry looked to Roxanne and she had an amused smile as well. "That's about right and she had a few such things to say about you as well."

Sirius snorted before replying, "That's putting it mildly. I think the only one of us that made a good first impression on her was Remus. I think she appreciated the fact that he'd push her for first in our year and they became better friends when they were prefects together. Your father and I spent far too much time clowning around and pranking for your mother's taste. Things changed in sixth year though, your father became more serious about things and they bickered a lot less. It was seventh year when they got together and after that, there was no turning back for either of them. I never saw two people so much in love as your parents."

Sirius' wistful look turned sad and he had brought up another one of his questions so he went with that. "Are you talking about Remus Lupin? I saw him in the will and they mentioned that he was a werewolf."

That brought Sirius back to the present quickly. "Yes, but it would be hard to find a gentler soul than Remus Lupin. I take it you've never met?"

"No but I found out that owls have a hard time finding me. It seems only certain people can send me owl post."

A frown crossed his godfather's face but it disappeared quickly. "Probably Dumbledore's doing, he was probably trying to protect you. Some people send nasty things by owl."

"That's what we thought. Do you think we could get in touch with him?"

"I'm not sure, he probably thinks that I'm guilty; he never contacted me. Roxy, have you had contact with Remus?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I could owl him if you wish since we don't know how he'd react to an owl from you."

"We'll have to consider that, I think. How many people know that Harry is here?"

"Only a few of Harry's friends and Daphne's best friend. Isn't that right, dear?"

Daphne answered quickly, "Yes, Mother."

"Is it possible that he'd be worried about Harry?"

Roxanne and Cyrus exchanged looks before she answered. "It's possible."

Sirius looked at him and said, "Why don't you write him then, Pup. It may set his mind at ease. Don't mention where you are or that we're together, just that you're safe. We can decide what more to disclose when he replies."

Did he just call him pup? "Pup?"

Sirius got a slightly sheepish look before he replied. "That's what I called you when you were little, it sort of slipped out."

"I don't mind, you can call me that if you want." Harry felt his face get a little warm as he admitted, "I sort of like it."

Harry began to blush harder as he realized the audience that he'd not taken into consideration. Only Daphne had a smirk that worried him, the rest of them seemed to take it in stride.

Their conversation seemed to break the ice and there was enough conversation that Harry had time to contemplate what he'd write to this Remus Lupin whom he didn't know. He wondered about bringing up the will and reckoned he ought to since how else would he explain knowing about him without disclosing who he was with? That would also allow him to reveal that Sirius was innocent and that sounded like a good plan to him.

When dinner was done, Astoria was sent to do something else while the rest of them went to the sitting room. He was pretty sure he saw Cyrus setting up a spell for privacy and wondered what was going to happen. The three adults took separate chairs while he and Daphne settled on a couch. He realized some of his anxiety must have shown when Roxanne spoke up.

"We're here to catch up on things and I'm afraid that means you will have to do most of the talking, Harry. Tell Sirius what he has missed and then we'll talk about what happens next."

His nerves kicked up a notch and he looked over at Daphne who put her hand over his and gave him an encouraging smile. He figured retelling what had happened in his first two years at Hogwarts wasn't too bad. He told about his first year and about the stone, which didn't seem to sit well with Sirius. Daphne helped by pointing out her suspicions and none of the adults contradicted her. Harry figured if Dumbledore had shown up then, he'd be facing a lot of hexes.

He then described the horrible time he'd been having with all of the suspicion of him culminating with him being revealed as a Parselmouth and to his relief, none of the adults so much as batted an eye. He then described meeting Daphne in the library and their subsequent meetings. He described the chamber incident carefully, only speaking of her help in figuring out what he'd face and omitting her direct participation.

He was more forthright when describing his acquisition of Dobby and their subsequent revenge on Lord Malfoy, which seemed to please Sirius greatly. He touched on his birthday then described what he had found out the next day, which seemed to get mixed reactions from Sirius. Although he'd done a lot of talking, he felt better for it. Then Sirius figuratively pulled the rug out from under him.

"Tell me about your time with the Dursleys."

Bloody hell, why couldn't everyone just drop this subject already? He couldn't help shrinking in on himself but relaxed slightly when he felt Daphne squeeze his hand. He looked at her and although her expression was serious, it made him feel better. He glanced at the elder Greengrasses and was sure they already knew. His only audience would be Sirius and shouldn't his godfather know about this? He took a deep breath and put himself into a light trance, he could do this.

He decided to offer only highlights, he'd answer any questions but he could hardly be expected to remember everything. Besides, there were things he'd rather forget.

"They only called me 'boy' or 'freak', I didn't know my name until I went to school. They never wanted me and never missed a chance to let me know it. They gave my cousin Dudley everything he wanted and gave me hand-me-downs and leftovers. They never celebrated my birthday and my first Christmas present was at Hogwarts."

Silence reigned in the sitting room. Harry dived deeper into his trance to avoid getting more nervous. He didn't dare look at anyone but the silence continued so long he was beginning to hope they didn't expect anything more. Suddenly, Daphne whispered to him.

"Tell them what else they did."

He looked at her with trepidation and only got quiet encouragement back from her. He then glanced at the adults and saw they were patiently waiting and all looked sympathetic. OK, just a summary again.

"They'd punish me when I did things they didn't like. They didn't like me doing better than Dudley, who was lazy and they were fussy about how I did my chores. What they hated was accidental magic but I really couldn't help that. Probably the worst is when I told a teacher what happened. They fooled the child services worker and well, I had a bad week after that. Usually, they'd punish me and just be done with it."

There, that should do it. Unfortunately, the adults were still waiting and he got a bit of a glare from Daphne. They wanted more and his heart sank.

"They encouraged Dudley to bully me. One of the favourite games of him and his friends was 'Harry hunting'. He was a lot bigger than me and I didn't dare fight back unless I wanted to get it from my uncle. They'd withhold food sometimes. My aunt never did much except one time she nailed me in the head with a frying pan."

Daphne had squeezed his hand so strongly that he looked at her and saw tears forming in her eyes. He wanted to stop but her look hardened and she fiercely whispered, "Finish it."

"My uncle would punch and kick me. The worst was one time he broke my arm and then just threw me into my cupboard."

For the first time since starting the subject Sirius asked a question. "Cupboard?"

Oh, he'd forgotten to mention that part and swallowed nervously. "My first letter from Hogwarts was addressed to me in the 'cupboard under the stairs'. That's where I lived until they thought wizards might know where they kept me and then they moved me into Dudley's spare room."

Sirius had a scarily intense face as he spoke. "They kept you in a cupboard under the stairs when their son had a spare room?"

The only thing he could think of to do was nod his head yes. He then saw that Sirius was clutching the arms of the chair so tightly that his knuckles were standing out. Then he saw his eyes and saw rage and then to his astonishment, they seemed to be glowing! He wondered what was about to happen.


	3. In the Fury of the Moment

Chapter 3 In the Fury of the Moment

A/N: Thanks for the follows, favorites and especially the reviews and special thanks to my wonderful beta, Shygui. My reading recommendation is Novocaine by StardustWarrior2991 and although it has a familiar premise (Harry inherits a lot due to defeating Voldemort) I like how the author has Harry react to the situation. If that isn't your cup of tea then you can't go wrong with any story by Dorothea Greengrass or Shygui. Now, it is time to settle that mini-cliffhanger that I left you with….

She was fury, she was wrath, she was vengeance. - Sarah J. Maas

Roxanne's voice rang out across the room, startling Harry but he kept his eyes on his godfather as if mesmerized.

"Sirius! Look at me!"

Sirius slowly turned towards Roxanne and both the rage and the glowing of his eyes subsided a little. When she had his attention she spoke again.

"There were a few details in that which were new to me but I knew the gist of this for months. You know me, Sirius, would I let that lie? Would I ignore something like that happening to someone I cared about? Would I allow Lily's son to be treated like that and do nothing about it?"

Although the rage and glow in his eyes died, his look was still a little scary. That smile on his face was very intimidating and accentuated by how skeletal he looked and his eerily eager voice didn't help either. "Do you need any help?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I have things in hand. Harry and Daphne, this will not be discussed beyond the ones in this room, am I clear?"

He looked at her and there was only one possible answer so he nodded his head yes and he knew that Daphne must be doing the same.

"I was very careful, nothing can be traced back to us. I was able to investigate them through someone who occasionally works for Cyrus and I was very thorough looking for my options. I would have loved to get them caught out for child abuse but that was risky, the Muggles are getting very good at evaluating evidence and there was no way I was going to let him return there. Then I discovered something else, a man like that wouldn't be content with just bullying a child, I knew there must be something that I could have him caught at."

"He has been embezzling money from his employer and he was doing that with the man who should catch such malfeasance, the Chief Financial Officer of the company. This other man was taking more though and it took a bit of work but I finally found a way for our dear Mr. Dursley to find that out. They aren't on such good terms anymore; the final step took place when I arranged for the other man to be caught. The Muggle authorities are gathering evidence against him as we speak."

"I understand that Muggle law enforcement is willing to make deals with the ones they catch to have them give evidence against others. I checked this other man's mind and he will gladly do that. Vernon Dursley doesn't know it but his days as a free man are numbered. There is nobody else to turn in so he won't get a deal. He will lose his job, end up in jail and he will lose his house and undoubtedly his family. I also made certain that he won't enjoy his ill-gotten gains nor have a lot of money for defending himself. He has had a lot of bad luck with his investments." Her grin during the last part was as intimidating as Sirius' had been.

"Once all that has happened, I will wait and have that same man watch for my opportunity to take Petunia Dursley down. She's no saint and once she is desperate enough, she will make a mistake and I will see to it that she is caught. If the Muggle courts don't punish them enough, I will take further action. The boy I won't bother with, he was raised to be as he is and he's a spoiled brat who won't be able to deal with what will happen to his family. I figure that is revenge enough."

She then gave Sirius a very solemn look. "Will that satisfy you, Sirius Black?"

After hearing that, Harry had a new respect for how formidable Daphne's mother was. He'd seen her maternal side and seen her as a caring woman but this was a very different side to her. Harry's eyes went back to his godfather and Sirius looked disgruntled but eventually he nodded that he would be satisfied.

Roxanne asked, "What do you think, Harry?"

His head whipped around to Roxanne so quickly he almost hurt his neck. Him? She was asking him? On one hand, it was nice that there was someone interested in his opinion but on the other hand this was all so unexpected that he didn't have anything ready to say yet. He glanced at Daphne and she merely watched him seriously, apparently she was waiting for his answer too. He wasn't sure what to feel but he had to say something.

He pondered all they had put him through and he had been content to just be shut of them, safe here with the Greengrasses. However, it appeared that the adults were not inclined to let this go. What they were doing certainly didn't bother him. His uncle was guilty of what they would get him for and his aunt would be guilty of whatever she did and that was justice at work, wasn't it? As he thought about it, he couldn't see anything wrong in it. "I'm fine with it."

That seemed to earn him a quick hug from Daphne and a nod from Sirius.

Roxanne spoke again, "Is there anything else to bring up before we discuss future plans?"

She was looking around and Harry remembered that he had bad news. After what he'd already had to tell, this would be simpler.

"I have bad news. In the letter from Ron, he said that Scabbers had run away when they got to Egypt. Scabbers is what we thought was his pet rat. I didn't think much of it when I got the letter but if that is Peter Pettigrew, then it was deliberate. I remember we talked in front of the rat about you, Sirius, and about me seeing the will. If he knew what was in the will or even just suspected, he must have made a run for it."

Sirius looked devastated. "Egypt? He's in Egypt? How long has he been on the run?"

Harry felt awful at how affected Sirius was. "Almost two weeks."

Sirius became the picture of despair as he folded in on himself and put his face in his hands. Harry wanted to comfort him somehow but he had no idea what to do. If only he'd known what that rat really was, he could have done something but now the traitor was beyond their grasp.

Things had gotten so quiet that it was a bit startling when Cyrus spoke up. "I know a man who is good at finding people, I will set him on the trail of Pettigrew."

Sirius came out of his funk enough to say, "Thank you, Cyrus."

Cyrus then spoke to Sirius again. "I have news for you too. When Harry and I found out you were innocent, I paid a visit to Madam Bones, the current head of the DMLE. She says she knew you and had questions about your guilt but that she hadn't been able to do anything at the time. She agreed to pass along confidential orders within the Aurors to have you taken alive and brought to her for questioning. Unfortunately, that is all she can do as the orders to have you kissed immediately by dementors comes directly from Minister Fudge himself and she cannot countermand that order. She might be an ally in the future if we need her, I'm not positive though."

Sirius nodded before he replied, "She was our squad leader back then. We got along well but she supervised us so we weren't close."

Cyrus appeared more solemn as he continued. "I was hoping that the shock value of producing a supposedly dead man would discourage enough of the Wizengamot members from voting guilty. We are not in a position to move quickly. First, it would help if you recover your health and can present yourself as a pureblood lord. I know that the members of my faction would vote for you but we are a minority of the votes in the Wizengamot. Next, I must feel out Dumbledore as between his loose coalition and the independent votes he can influence, we'd be a little above half the votes. However, I don't want to count on that and it would be best to have some votes from the conservatives, they are a very powerful block despite everything that has happened,"

"We cannot depend on them voting based on the evidence, too many are looking out for what is in it for them and some are quite content to have the Blacks off the board. I also recently called in some markers to get Malfoy convicted so I have less political capital to use. Sirius, can you think of any of the conservatives that I could approach that may be inclined in your favour?"

Sirius was starting to look very tired to Harry but Sirius answered anyway. "Uhm, it's been a long time. How about Shafiq?"

"No, sorry. They're gone."

Sirius blinked rapidly in astonishment. "Really? OK, how about Fawley?"

"They aren't in the conservative faction, they are independents who could be influenced by Dumbledore."

Sirius seemed to age before his eyes and he rubbed at his eyes and sighed before declaring, "Well, probably Selwyn, you can try them. Other than that I'm sorry, I can't think of anyone else right now. Perhaps we can go over who is in the faction you're concerned about and I'll think of something."

"That's fine, it's getting late anyway and as I said, there is no need to rush. We should also discuss Dumbledore as his motives here are a little murky. I wonder if he knew what was in the will, do you know?"

Sirius shook his head no so Cyrus turned to Roxanne and asked, "Did you have anything to add?"

"No, I think we've had enough excitement tonight and these two have class in the morning." She nodded towards Harry and Daphne at the end. Then she looked at them and added, "Keep your walk tonight short as it's already late."

"Yes, Mother."

"Sirius, I will walk you back to where you're staying. I want to check that foot."

"Whatever you say, Roxy."

* * *

Cyrus Greengrass was shaking his head at all he had learned through Harry Potter in the last few months. If he hadn't been getting it from reliable sources, he'd have laughed it off as the plot of a children's book. He knew that the Wizengamot and Ministry were corrupt and ineffective but he hadn't realized the scope of the misery that was being caused. He'd been safe in his warded manor with his formidable reputation along with his successful business and his many contacts. He had allowed himself to become complacent and remain ignorant. Those days were over.

He was the chairman of the board of governors for Hogwarts now and he wasn't going to let Dumbledore have his own way anymore, even though it wouldn't be easy. He was not only protecting his two girls and his all-but-ward, he had an entire generation of upcoming wizards and witches to be concerned about. Things must change and he would see to it.

He wouldn't have to go it alone for too long, or at least he hoped not. Once they proved Sirius' innocence he'd have a formidable family supporting him and might help weaken the hold on votes that the conservatives currently held. There was a possibility of a new age in the politics of Magical England.

He had just eased himself into his chair in his den when he heard the pop of Mipsy appearing in the room. He hoped there wasn't some new urgent matter but was only partly reassured by the fact that the house elf remained silent. She was wringing her hands and looking uncertain so something was amiss.

"Is something wrong, Mipsy?"

"Mipsy didn't want to bother master but Mipsy doesn't want to be a bad elf."

Well, that had been remarkably uninformative, apparently he had asked the wrong question. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Mipsy gasped and looked even more distraught. "It is not for Master to be helping Mipsy, it is for Mipsy to be helping Master!"

He was clearly in a situation that he was ill prepared for so he pondered for a moment before trying again. "I need you to calm down and tell me what is bothering you."

"Yes, Master, Mipsy will try very hard." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then she timidly met his eyes and asked, "Is it OK for Mipsy to be spending time with house elf Dobby?"

Is that all it was? He gave her an indulgent smile and said, "Yes, we want you to be happy so we are fine with that."

That earned him a gobsmacked stare and an excited response.

"Master is such a good master! Can Mipsy also make little elfs?"

Now he was absolutely convinced he wasn't ready for this conversation. However, if he could face the fact that in the future he'd have grandchildren, he could certainly find a way to face this. "Would we have to get another elf to handle the household?"

"Oh, no! Dobby can help. House elf babies grow fast. We can handle all our duties."

"In that case, that is fine with us as well."

"Master is so great! Thank you, master!"

In the next moment, she was hugging his leg and then before he could react, she popped away. Cyrus decided that was it, he'd had enough for one day, he was going to bed.

* * *

Sirius was confused, tired and depressed but was coherent enough to know that was a bad combination. He felt the approach of wards but knew they'd do nothing with him leaving rather than entering and with only a slight course correction, he was headed for the servants' quarters. Roxanne had been lagging slightly behind so he slowed his pace and she soon appeared by his side, looking at him.

He spoke first. "She went into the chamber with him, didn't she?"

"They didn't fool you either then. We're quite certain she did but we decided not to pursue the matter. Daphne isn't the reckless sort unless a friend – or boyfriend – is at risk and she feels she has no choice. She's been trying to get Harry to think ahead more, to be more aware of his options. He was quite clever with how he fought and defeated Riddle in the chamber. He's modest but I hoped you caught that fact also."

"Oh, I did. I'm quite proud of my pup although I may have to get out of the habit of calling him that. I think he has outgrown it."

"Don't be too quick to assume that. Harry was deprived of a real childhood and I think he was honest in not minding a nickname, even if it might seem a bit… juvenile." She gave him a small smile, "You should probably keep it for private use though."

He couldn't resist a little teasing, especially since she had set herself up for it. "I never pictured Roxanne Lannister as a fount of maternal wisdom. This is a real surprise to me, Roxy."

She chuckled before responding. "Some of us had to grow up but then I'm still trying to figure out the new Sirius Black. The last few years have not been kind to you, obviously. By the way, I never found it plausible that you were the traitor but we had no proof and Cyrus was not in the Wizengamot back then, we had no idea that you never had a trial. Someone should have done something about this long before now."

Time to be honest and open for once, he couldn't allow her to censure herself for something not under her control. "Don't blame yourself, Roxy, because I don't. I'd love to have a pointed discussion with Dumbledore though." He had to pause as he opened the door to the building and then to his apartment. He went to the easy chair and removed his shoe and sock to look at his foot himself first. He thought it was better but he knew little of healing and had no wand either.

Roxanne came to the same conclusion rather quickly. "How is your stomach?"

"It's fine and I haven't eaten that much since before Azkaban. Will I have to keep taking the potion?"

"The recommended course of treatment is two days, we'll try without after that and see how it goes. I see your dreamless sleep potion is ready for you." She pointed at his desk and he glanced that way but quickly looked back at Roxanne as that was something that required private consideration.

He decided to reassure her. "Don't worry. I'll be a good patient or at least I'll try to be."

She smirked at him before replying. "I have no complaints in that regard. However, I really want a fully trained healer to give you a full examination as there could be things that I am missing. I'll start looking tomorrow but I don't know how long it will take. Do you need anything else tonight?"

"No, I'm good and I'm also grateful. You and Cyrus have been very welcoming and generous. I will remember this or more importantly, the Lord Black will remember this. Thank you."

"I'm only doing what I feel I should do, Sirius. I don't feel like I'm doing more that is required by circumstances."

He gave her a serious but friendly look. "I always knew you were a good woman, Roxy."

She lifted an eyebrow before responding, "You didn't act like it for the first few years at Hogwarts."

"Meh, I was young, foolish, immature and too busy with other things. The fault in that was mine."

She looked at him in mock shock. "Now that's not the Sirius Black I knew."

She was smirking at him so he pretended to glare back but as much as he enjoyed bantering with her, they had some very weighty things to cover as well and it was time for one of them. "I just want to warn you to be very careful about waking me from a nightmare. I don't react well if it's a bad one. I found myself trying to strangle your bedclothes after a nap this afternoon."

She looked devastated as she responded. "Oh, Sirius. I really need to find you a healer."

He didn't want her worrying and he certainly didn't want her pity. He gave her a friendly smile before making a shooing motion with his hand. "Go on back to your family, I'll be fine here."

She looked momentarily reluctant but then nodded in agreement. "Good night, Sirius. We'll see you tomorrow."

In that moment, Sirius decided that Cyrus was a very lucky man and Roxy was an incredible woman. "Good night, Roxy."

The moment she shut the door his pleasant thoughts disappeared and he felt the isolation creeping up around him. In Azkaban, he'd taken it as a matter of course, as the natural order of things but here, he hoped for more. He knew it wasn't practical now, not until he had his head back on straight. He didn't want anyone near him when he woke from a nightmare, the danger was quite real. A feeling of worthlessness tried to take over and he had to force it back. He really needed to start trying Occlumency again, he'd given up on it while in Azkaban but it might help him regain his control now.

Sirius glared balefully at the potion on his desk. A part of him wished it was firewhiskey but he mentally shook that thought away, he'd tried that after Marlene and knew it solved nothing. Still, the potion was a reminder of his current weakness but he'd have to instead think of it as a means to regain himself, to become who he needed to be for Harry and for the Greengrasses. He refused to be a burden in any case but he had to become the godfather that Harry needed and Lily and James had expected. They'd put him second only to Alice and Frank and he had a lot to live up to.

He forced himself up and got into his pyjamas and brushed his teeth then walked over to the potion and downed it immediately, before he could think about it. He went over to the bed and by the time he had settled in, he was already feeling the effects. He had the most peaceful night that he'd had in years.

* * *

Harry awoke to find himself rubbing at his scar, which was tingling a little more than usual. He decided it was time to get up so he went over to look at his scar in the mirror to find it was about the same. He had been told that whatever was in the scar was losing to his mother's protection so he shrugged and continued to get ready. Before he was even out of his bedroom, he was wondering when he'd get to see Sirius again.

Then he saw the letter he'd written last night and remembered he had to go to the banishing box on his way to breakfast. He wondered how what he'd written would be received by the stranger who was another friend of his father's. There was a little bit of excitement added by the fact that he was a werewolf and he'd never met one before. He wasn't concerned as Sirius had called him a gentle soul, who could be afraid of someone described like that?

He entered the dining room to find Roxanne and her daughters already quietly eating. It was the quiet part of that which puzzled him. With both Astoria and Daphne there, quiet is not something you generally experienced yet here they were, eating silently. He checked on both of the girls and while Daphne didn't react to his scrutiny, Astoria blushed. He guessed that Astoria was still uneasy about Sirius so he decided to stay quiet himself as he really didn't know what to say to make it better.

He'd gotten so accustomed to the quiet that he was almost startled when Roxanne spoke up. "Astoria, you will continue your lesson on charms while I get Daphne and Harry started on Arithmancy. It will have to be mostly self-study as I have to check on Lord Black and then start trying to find a healer that we can trust. I'll be by to check on you from time to time but try to work independently as much as you can."

If it would get Sirius help, Harry would do that and more as he understood priorities now and his godfather was his top priority until he was better.

* * *

Roxanne wanted to give Sirius maximum privacy so she knocked on the outside door again. She didn't hear anything until he got to the door and then recalled the silencing ward that he'd requested so that made sense. She was interested in how his foot was doing so she noticed his slippers first.

"Nice slippers." She raised her head to smirk at him and was surprised to see that his hair looked much better as well.

"They're better than they were. When the daft elf first got them, they were pink."

She couldn't help it, she chuckled before she could stop herself. Sirius gave her a wounded look before smiling back and saying, "At least I convinced him to change them to black. It turned out that he also can do haircuts so hopefully, I'll no longer scare your youngest."

He turned to lead the way to his apartment but she wanted to ease any concern he might have about Astoria's reaction to him. "It wasn't just your appearance, Sirius. She was also intimidated by meeting a lord, we haven't taken her to as many official functions as we've taken Daphne. Now that she's older, we'll start doing that and she'll be more comfortable with such things."

Sirius sighed before responding, "It's good to ease her into that nonsense."

She was glad that he was busy seating himself into his chair at that moment so he didn't see her momentary frown. "Why do you think it is nonsense? It's part of our culture."

He looked at her and then away as he said, "Every time I do that stuff, I remember the lessons I got from my mother. I can't think about that sort of thing without remembering my mother's hexes. My rebellion against my parents kind of carried over to rejecting everything they taught me. I know that there are useful things too like how I learned to detect wards. Cyrus already asked me to share that with Harry and I intend to do that."

She nodded in agreement although he might not have seen it but she also wanted to show that she knew the old ways were not perfect. "I know very well that our culture isn't perfect. Women are still not treated equally and I'll be careful to point out to Daphne that we have a history of child abuse ourselves, it isn't just Harry's Muggle relatives. I just feel that there are some things worth preserving."

Sirius gave her a determined look as he responded. "If you're worried about me undermining what you're teaching Harry, don't. I asked Cyrus to continue teaching Harry about his responsibilities and I'm going to have to whip myself into a pureblood lord in the near future as well. I just don't want him caught up in any pureblood prejudices."

"You don't have to worry about that, as we don't subscribe to them either. I've taught Daphne and Astoria to respect other people, other beliefs and other customs. Besides, Harry has a Muggleborn friend, he's obviously not biased."

"Really? That's good to hear. What about other friends?"

"The Muggleborn is Hermione Granger but he's also close to Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom. They are also friends with Hermione and he also spends time with Daphne's half-blood friend from a minor house. They're quite a mix in regard to status in the wizarding culture."

"That's good to hear. I hope I didn't sound like I was questioning your beliefs; I know how close you were to Lily. I'd never consider you biased or bigoted."

She gave him a small smile as she responded, "No offense taken. So, how's the foot?"

"Better." He lifted his foot and removed the slipper and she could see the difference. His magic was strengthening and accelerating the healing so she would no longer had to worry about his foot. She switched mental gears as he put his slipper back on.

"I have the children working on their summer studies while I'll start searching for a healer we can trust. I was wondering, do you happen to know someone that you could suggest, someone who wouldn't immediately run for the Aurors?"

Sirius got a distant look in his eyes as he thought. "I can't think of anyone I knew who became a healer." He paused and then seemed like he had remembered something. "There was a healer trainee I met while I was with the Aurors. She was nice and helpful and she might remember me. Everyone called her Sami."

"Sami? Is that a Muggle name?"

"Maybe but I think it was a nickname."

He still had a faraway look so she decided to try to lighten things up. "I'm surprised you didn't chat her up and learn more about her." She felt disappointed with herself when his face fell and his words just made her feel even worse.

"That was after Marlene. I wasn't in a good place, I didn't do that sort of thing anymore."

She couldn't believe that she'd led the conversation to Marlene again! She was trying to help him and she kept putting her foot in her mouth.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood and bollixed it up. Before I go, do you have any more information that might help me find her?"

He concentrated for few moments but with a disappointed shake of his head, he spoke again. "Sorry, no. If I remember anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Sirius." She paused and decided to try to empathize to ease any pain he felt as she didn't feel comfortable ending on such a sombre note. "You know I miss Marlene too."

She seemed to pique his own empathy. "I know, Roxy, I know. We've all lost people we cared about. I won't sit around pouting. I could use something to read though."

"I'll send Mipsy and tell her to bring whatever you want to read. We have a Daily Prophet."

"That's a good start. Thanks, Roxy."

That was very encouraging, now to add something for him to look forward to. "My pleasure, Sirius. I'll see you later and probably take Harry here for a visit in the afternoon if I can."

"I'd love that."

At least her last suggestion got him smiling and she resolved to do better as she left the building. She called Mipsy and gave her the new instructions and then started on her way to the Apparition point.

* * *

Harry was on the second to last problem when he was startled to hear Daphne throw her quill down and complain.

"I hate fractions! Why do we have to do this?!"

Harry blinked in astonishment at her before he managed to form a reply. "They aren't that hard. Do you want some help?"

She gave him a surprised look and then stood up to peer over at his papers before exclaiming, "You're almost done! I'm still on the first page!"

He saw her sit back down looking embarrassed and she refused to meet his eyes. Once again, he found himself in a situation he felt ill prepared for, what was he supposed to do? He wasn't sure how she'd react to him trying to console her so he decided to go with offering advice. "It's a matter of reducing and simplifying fractions. You just need a little practice, I can show you."

She finally looked at him but she still looked a little upset. "How do you know this already?"

"I learned it in Muggle primary school."

She gasped and gave him a disbelieving look, "Muggles know about Arithmancy?!"

"No. I studied Maths in Muggle school and they showed me how to work with fractions. You have to know Maths as it is closely involved with Muggle science and everyday life. They don't know about magic so that never comes up."

She calmed down quickly and pondered before responding. "So Muggles work with numbers too. I guess I shouldn't be surprised as they have money too. I suppose I should have realized this before." She looked down at her papers before looking at him again. "I would appreciate some help then, Harry."

There was a hint of shyness in her look that puzzled him but he ignored it and he showed her how to approach the problem she was stuck on. Her intelligence shown through as she quickly picked up what he was showing her and soon they were having a good time finishing up.

When they were done, she turned to him with a grin and said, "Thanks for your help, Pup."

He narrowed his eyes at her but he could tell he wasn't fooling her a bit, it was probably the smile that he couldn't make go away that ruined his response. "My pleasure, Daph."

He saw a hint of a blush on her face but her smile was undiminished so he knew his riposte hadn't hit the mark. He decided to try again with, "Or maybe I should call you Daffy."

That hit the mark but then, maybe it hit the mark too hard. She straightened up and her glare looked quite real as she answered. "Only if you want to get hexed!"

OK, maybe that wasn't his best idea ever. "I suppose I could settle for Daph then."

Her face softened and there was a hint of a blush again as she answered, "Tracey calls me that sometimes. I don't mind it. Keep it amongst friends though. Um, I sometimes call her Trace."

He wasn't sure how to respond so he went back to his nickname. "Pup is more like what Sirius would call me. I don't mind it though but…"

"I get it. I guess I'll have to come up with my own nickname for you."

He wasn't sure he liked that mischievous smile she was giving him. He wasn't certain that he'd like what she came up with either. On the other hand, it was all in good fun and he knew she wouldn't set out to hurt him. She wasn't a Dursley, far from it in fact.

* * *

He hated her, he really did. He'd only known her for a little more than a week but he hated her more than his former friends or that whelp who was the symbol of his downfall. For now, he needed her so he did his best to tolerate her and help her as she demanded in return for her help.

Escaping while they were in Egypt had seemed like such a good idea but he'd not known that there were cats all over the place here. One of them had nearly ended him within a day after he'd made his escape. For a while he'd been very afraid of losing his leg but Rana had stopped the infection and now had him on his way to a slow recovery. He still limped but he could walk and the fevers were gone, thanks to her, he'd live.

However, having to stay with her was driving him mad. Rana was a witch but she'd never had formal training. She seemed to know a few spells but she also seemed to have a natural gift for potions. It quickly became rather obvious that she lacked formal training though. She didn't keep her tools clean as she should and the way she measured things seemed haphazard to him. He was no expert but he'd have expected a Dreadful at best from Slughorn if he'd behaved like Rana.

On the other hand, her potions worked more often than not. He also recognized some of the ingredients he collected and prepared for her. However, some others were new to him but he never questioned her, first because she didn't like that and second because he was no expert either.

"Hurry Peter! My customers not be liking to wait all day!"

He also hated that he'd given her his real first name, he'd not make that mistake again. At least he had thought to give the last name of Black. She may be untrained and an unpleasant person but she was one of the few he'd found who spoke English. He was pants at translation spells so he was stuck with her. However, some day he would have his revenge and put this barely trained harridan in her place. For now though, he would help her and get well. He also had to practice his magic as his long magical layoff had caused his abilities to deteriorate. He couldn't even take her on until he could rely on his spells working consistently. His time would come, though, someday she would pay.

* * *

She'd spent most of the day with him so she really shouldn't begrudge him this time with his godfather. She understood his curiosity and wanting to get to know this man who'd been in his life as a baby. She also knew about sharing but they'd only just started as boyfriend/girlfriend and it seemed unfair somehow. The teasing voice of her sister interrupted her musings. "Miss your boyfriend, Daphne?"

Ugh. Now she had to deal with her sister again. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then explain it to me."

She gave her a scathing look, as if she'd give her more information to tease her about.

"I'm serious. I promise I won't tease you, I really want to understand."

She looked serious but she couldn't afford to believe her, this could easily be a conversation that could backfire. "I'm not falling for you tricks, Astoria."

"Do you want me to take an oath?"

She really wanted to call her bluff but as she studied her little sister, she seemed to be totally serious. If she did take an oath and it any way backfired, she knew who'd be blamed. As much as she found her little sister annoying, she did love her and didn't want her hurt. She knew that was true for her little sister too, Astoria would never attempt any real harm to her, she knew that.

"You swear that you are serious about this?"

"I promise. I won't tease you about what you tell me."

It was risky but she decided to tentatively accept the risk. "What do you want to know?"

"Does it really make you happy just being with him?"

She knew that she probably had a dreamy smile on her face just from thinking about it so she told the truth. "Yes. Even just walking with him and not talking is good but talking to him is even better."

"And kissing?"

She studied her sister again, this was getting into more dangerous territory but she saw nothing but earnest curiosity from Astoria. "Kissing is the best part."

Now she saw the dreamy look on her sister's face and realized she was being serious and she finally relaxed. She stiffened when she heard Astoria's next question. "Just like the books?"

Daphne sighed and pondered her answer before responding, she even caught herself chewing on her lip. "Not exactly. The first one started out a little awkward, my heart was beating so fast and I was so afraid of his reaction. But then he started kissing back and it was so…." She paused on consternation as she couldn't find the right word.

"Amazing?"

"Yes but more than that… I guess… sort of like a dream come true." She carefully tried to keep her face stoic and watched her sister's reaction, if she started teasing, there'd be trouble.

Astoria was practically bouncing with excitement. "Oh! I can't wait to have a boyfriend of my own!"

Uh-oh, this was trouble of a different sort. "It's not that simple, Astoria. First of all, boys your age and even a lot of them my age are not ready to be boyfriends. That's why I had to wait on Harry, for him to be ready. It won't work if the boy isn't ready and if he doesn't like you back, it will be even worse. There are a lot of boys who would jump at the chance to take advantage of a girl."

She was relieved to see Astoria take her seriously and a frown formed on Astoria's face. "Mum has been telling me that too. But how do you know if a boy really likes you? If the boy is ready?"

For a second she was tempted to push this conversation off to their mother but then she decided that her sister would probably be more inclined to listen to her about this. It would be a more awkward conversation with a parent, even their mother who was willing to be open about things like these.

"Figuring out if the boy is ready is the easier part. Watch how he reacts to girls in general. One of Harry's best friends is a girl and they get along pretty well so I knew he had no problem being friends with a girl. However, I got the chance to ask the question indirectly. There's this girl a year below us who fancies Harry, even though he seemed oblivious – which is a bad sign by the way. I asked him how he felt about her and how she acted with him and he came right out and told me that he wasn't ready. That made it easy for me to know."

"So how did you know he liked you?"

Her best evidence was how he acted when he revived her in the chamber but she wasn't going to tell her sister THAT. "That's the hard part. My best advice is to be patient, watch him over time. Does he notice things about you? Does he care if you do well at something? If all he does is give you weird compliments, don't believe him."

She then acted out someone giving insincere compliments. "Oh, you're so pretty! I love your hair! Your eyes are divine! You make me just want to kiss you!" Then she made a ridiculous kissing face that had her little sister laughing hysterically.

She waited a little for her sister to calm down before she continued. "The prats seem to generally be impatient. If you don't react how they want you to for a while, they'll drift away. A boy who's really interested will stick around."

She was satisfied to see Astoria taking her seriously after she had calmed down. Then her little sister threw her a question she wasn't expecting.

"What do you think about Neville Longbottom? Is he boyfriend material?"

That was a whole different can of worms and this was not something she could push off to her mother. "On the plus side, he is the heir to a Noble and Most Ancient House so he's a good catch in our society. As a person, he's honest, loyal and friendly. However, there's somebody who is already interested in him."

Astoria seemed a little outraged, "Who?!"

She gave her sister a frown that made her calm down and ask more calmly, "Who is it?"

"Tracey."

"Oh." She knew that Astoria liked Tracey although they weren't really friends directly. "So how does he feel about her?"

"I'm not sure. They are friends but I'm not sure Neville is ready for dating. He has some confidence issues, I'm sure you've heard about his grandmother."

Astoria made a face that made it obvious she'd heard little that was good about the Dowager Longbottom. "But if they aren't dating, isn't he fair game?"

For a moment, she was torn between supporting her friend and educating her sister, she decided to go with the latter. "If he isn't ready, does it really matter?"

Astoria's sigh and resigned expression seemed to settle that issue.

* * *

Roxanne had decided to break off her seemingly-doomed search in the mid-afternoon so she could at least give both Harry and Sirius a treat and accomplish something that day. Her attempt to ask about a 'Sami' in the Auror department was brushed off and her luck at St. Mungo's was not much better. She did have a lead on a healer but it didn't seem particularly promising and it would have required going to yet another remote location. As much as she wanted to find help for Sirius, she had other responsibilities too. She wasn't giving up, she'd continue the next day.

She came alert again when she saw Sirius gesturing while explaining something to Harry. They were near the second ward while she sat on a conjured chair some distance away to give them some privacy. She smiled as Harry looked so attentive and happy, she'd been right to give them a chance to visit. Suddenly she had the feeling she wasn't alone and glanced over her shoulder and saw Daphne looking past her at the same duo she'd been contemplating.

She conjured another chair beside her and saw that Daphne was now looking at her so she gestured for her to come over and sit with her. She hid her smile as Daphne was distracted watching the others as she approached the chair. Her focus was obviously more on Harry than anything else, it was almost like she could relive her courtship with Cyrus through this developing relationship unfolding before them.

Once Daphne sat down, she followed her daughter's eyes to the other two and then it struck her that they looked like more than godfather and godson from this vantage point. She couldn't really see their faces and their hair almost matched. She decided to share her new observation with her eldest.

"They could almost be father and son from this angle. They both have dark hair and they are so enthralled with their discussion."

Daphne gave her a startled look and then looked back at the pair with more scrutiny than before. Her tone was unenthusiastic as she replied. "I guess you're right, I never thought of it that way."

She decided her daughter needed some advice. "You shouldn't begrudge Harry his time with others. You both will need time with your own friends, time to concentrate on your studies, and so on. You can't spend all of your time together."

The momentary sour look on her daughter's face proved she had needed the advice. Roxanne was startled by her daughter's change of subject.

"Astoria talked to me about boys and dating."

"Oh? How did that go?"

"OK."

She frowned at her daughter, if she didn't want to talk about it, why did she bring up the subject? Although Daphne still watched the other pair, she seemed to recognize her mother's discontent with what little she'd said.

"She took what I said seriously and she asked some good questions. I nearly referred her to you but then I decided to give it a try myself. Neville caught her eye but I told her that Tracey is already interested."

That piqued Roxanne's interest in a different way. "And what about Neville?"

"I'm not sure he's ready, he has confidence issues." She turned to her mother with a significant look so Roxanne understood exactly why she thought the issue had come to exist. Unfortunately, she had to agree.

She decided to continue that subject, to see what Daphne knew. "I think Harry's going to try to do something about the disagreement between our families. That may end up giving Neville more of a voice in what is going on for his family, he is the heir."

"Yes, he told me about that, I wished him luck."

She couldn't resist a hopeful smile as she looked back towards the young man they were discussing. "I wouldn't count Harry out, he's becoming an amazing young man."

Daphne nodded thoughtfully and then looked at Harry and his godfather again just in time to see Sirius gesture and some strange, faint pattern appear in the air. Her tone was urgent as she leaned towards her mother and asked quietly, "What was that?"

"Sirius is showing him Black family magic about wards."

"Wow."

She glanced at Daphne and saw her staring, entranced. She knew she was obviously as curious as she was but custom dictated that they not stick their noses into what Sirius was teaching his godson. Family magic was, of course, a very private thing.

Eventually, Daphne went back to the previous subject. "If Harry is trying to change Dowager Longbottom's mind, he's going to need a lot of patience, it will take time."

"When has Harry ever backed down from a challenge?"

Daphne turned to her mother and gave her a rueful look. She shared her daughter's disquiet on that subject, Harry still had an impulsive side which was endearing and troubling all at the same time. However, Roxanne was beginning to think that Harry could accomplish more than you'd expect from a child his age and that maybe even the Dowager Longbottom would find him to be an imposing opponent.

* * *

It was late at night and he really should be home but once he started, it was hard to stop. It had been a fascinating investigation and he'd learned some new things. He looked at the ward stone he had collected and thought it just might be the single finest example of magic that he'd ever encountered. However, in the situation it had been used, it had been a wrongheaded decision that made things worse instead of better. There was no question of who was responsible for it as Albus Dumbledore's magical signature was all over it.

He understood a lot more about what was going on with the Harry Potter boy now. He would have to tell his friend Cyrus about his findings but he wasn't looking forward to it. His friend would be justifiably furious about what had happened. It was in no way his fault but sometimes the bearer of bad tidings was the target of ire as well. No, he was not looking forward to this at all.


	4. Patience vs Patient

Chapter 4 Patience vs. Patient

A/N: Here is chapter four for everyone's perusal. Thanks to everyone who is reading and especially to those reviewing; special thanks go to my marvellous beta, Shygui.

The only people mad at you for speaking the truth are those living a lie. – Gaskins Jr.

If this wasn't so important Roxanne would be ready to quit. The lead she'd had the previous day turned out to be a waste of time before she'd even met the healer. The receptionist had gossiped about a patient to a friend of hers while she was waiting. Needless to say, she left as soon as she could.

As she went through her contacts trying to find a healer she could consider, she also asked about anyone named 'Sami', which had only gotten her odd looks until her last contact. Her contact thought there was a healer back at St. Mungo's with that name, which would be strange as she'd started her search there right after striking out with the Aurors.

She got a late lunch and contemplated going back home again but ultimately decided she'd give it one more try before she gave up. She only received puzzled or impatient looks until a healer's assistant told her about a healer who had been 'promoted' to an office in the basement. The assistant had a high opinion of her, otherwise Roxanne would have been very sceptical of looking for her being worth her time.

If it hadn't been for a friendly janitor, she might never have found the office. She wondered what the healer had done to be exiled here. She paused in thought as she stared at the door that was labelled Samantha Stevens, Director of Psychology. She'd never heard of Psychology as a type of healer. However, based on the roots of the word, she might be a mind healer, which would be what Sirius needed. However, first she had to find out what she'd done to end up here.

There was something familiar about the name though. She was staring at it trying to remember where she might have encountered the name before when she was startled by the door opening and she stepped back and found herself facing an equally startled woman looking back at her.

The woman seemed about her age with hazel eyes and brown hair with blond highlights. She had high cheekbones and would have been attractive but frankly, she looked a bit haggard. When she got over her surprise, she saw suspicion or caution in her eyes. This was obviously a woman who was not having an easy life. Perhaps Roxanne wasn't the only one who would be circumspect during this first contact.

"Can I help you?"

Her tone was careful but professional, that was somewhat encouraging. "Healer Stevens?"

"Yes." She thought she saw a flash of hopefulness but it quickly vanished, this woman was still being cautious.

"I'm Roxanne Greengrass, I'm looking for a healer for a private patient. Is that something you'd be interested in?"

The healer paused but then asked, "Possibly, what would I be treating the patient for?"

"Long term stress and a general examination."

She saw a flash of interest but it morphed to curiosity. "Why can't the patient come here for treatment?"

"We'd need to come to an agreement about confidentiality before we could discuss that."

There was a flicker of something in her eyes again but Roxanne couldn't identify it. "Very well, let's discuss it in my office."

She led the way in and Roxanne took a quick look around. Although the desk looked good, the room was barely large enough and looked old but clean. As she closed the door she had her wand out and put a privacy spell on the door and the wall it was in before slipping her wand back in its holster and turning around to take one of the two chairs in front of the healer's desk.

"I support the patient/healer confidentiality as much or more as any healer. Is there a particular concern you have in this regard?"

"First of all, he isn't your patient yet so that wouldn't cover him already. Also, I'm curious as to how you ended up down here."

"Ah, yes. My exile to the basement." A mirthless smile appeared on her face but it still made her look more attractive than her first impression. She fixed Roxanne with an assessing gaze and continued to watch her carefully as she continued. "I'm a half blood, my mother was a Muggleborn. When I became a healer, I was disappointed that despite some amazing healing we can do for physical injuries, the Muggle world is much more advanced in treating the mind and mental diseases. For the most part, the magical world only put them into long term care and don't treat them at all. I went out to get a Muggle degree in Psychology with the support of the chief of staff at that time. I was promoted and was to head a new department for treating mental issues but then the chief retired. His replacement had a quite different view on what I wanted to do. My department was reduced to only me and well, here I am." She gestured to the room with a sardonic attempt at a smile.

She suppressed her reaction, it sounded like pureblood bias and she could sympathize with her plight. "Why didn't he fire you?"

"Ah, that might attract attention and I had some support back then too. He didn't do it all at once, he transferred people away one by one and once it was just me, decided I was better suited to a smaller space. It was all perfectly justifiable individual decisions that led me here, isolated and forgotten. He may have forgotten me too, I'm not sure."

"So you have no patients?"

"None. I volunteer to help in the trauma ward and other places just to keep my hand in. My investigations into the possibility of going into private practice went nowhere, nobody is interested in my 'Muggle' ideas. Otherwise, I sit here and read."

Roxanne must have passed a test during her explanation as the healer became more at ease as they continued their conversation. However, her last response was given with great distaste, Roxanne knew this woman would be eager for any change in her situation so this was looking promising. She still was torn on how much confidentiality she had to insist on to reveal the patient. Knowing if she was really the 'Sami' that Sirius had met and if she would remember Sirius would help her decide. First, she'd satisfy her own curiosity though.

"Your name is familiar to me. Did you go to Hogwarts?"

The healer looked at her curiously, "Yes, do you think we met there?"

"I'm not sure if we met, my name then was Roxanne Lannister and I graduated in 1978."

The healer's eyes widened in mild surprise. "I was in Ravenclaw and graduated in 1979 but sorry, I don't remember you."

"I don't remember you either but the name was familiar."

For the first time, the healer's face was alive with mirth. "If you are acquainted with Muggle television, my name would be familiar. My Muggleborn mother enjoyed the telly and there was this show about a witch marrying a Muggle. They had it all wrong though, they thought we did magic by wiggling our noses if you can imagine that. I was named after the main character in that show."

Roxanne found that amusing even though she'd never heard of the show. "I'd not heard of that but I probably encountered your name while we were both in school. A friend of mine mentioned a healer trainee named 'Sami' who worked with the Aurors, that wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

The healer's eyes went wide. "Yes, as a matter of fact that was me. That experience was what helped encourage me to take my career in the direction I did. Some of the Aurors were suffering from stress and I felt bad that conventional healing could do so little for them."

Roxanne noted a speculative look appearing on the healer's face, she had given enough hints that she had to resolve this soon. "I need to know if you will consider this a confidential conversation, not to be repeated to anyone."

The cautious look returned but then left as the healer obviously came to a decision. "For the purposes of this conversation, I will consider you a patient and this will be covered under my vows as a healer."

She had watched the healer carefully and used truth reading as well. Everything told her that she was serious and truthful. It was time. "The patient was not only in a stressful environment, there is also long term exposure to dementors involved."

She saw her face go through a few flashes of emotion before she gasped and looked at her in shock. She almost started to say something but then started fumbling for her wand and whispering, "We need privacy for this."

"I already took care of that."

The healer gave her a look of astonishment before it morphed into mild amusement. "We're talking about Sirius Black, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are."

The healers' look was intense and very serious. "How is he? What have you done so far?"

Roxanne was surprised by the sudden shift in attitude but overall it was encouraging. "He looked ghastly when he got to our home. He had a cut on his foot that I healed with an Episkey and that looks much better. We have given him a nutritive potion and we're giving him a potion to help him transition to normal meals. I have given him one dreamless sleep potion, I planned on every third night as needed. He seems a lot saner than I ever imagined but we are being careful around him. He apparently has horrible nightmares."

"Merlin, what that man has been through. I met him and James Potter too when I was helping with the Aurors. I couldn't believe that Sirius would betray James like that, he's innocent isn't he?"

"He is, the Potter Last Will and Testament identifies Peter Pettigrew as the secret keeper, not Sirius."

The healer was outraged. "Then why isn't that in the news?!"

"Because the will was sealed."

"Bloody idiots!" The healer's further imprecations were mumbled and indistinct but much to Roxanne's relief, the healer was appalled by what had happened to Sirius and they had found the ally they needed. She became curious as the healer was digging through a drawer in her desk and pulled out a small satchel. The healer stood and said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go to him!"

To her embarrassment, she must have gaped at her in surprise for a moment before shaking it off and deciding what to do. She stood, concentrated on a message, conjured a fox Patronus silently and watched it disappear. She had just turned back to the healer to hear her announce, "I'll take us to the nearest Apparition point. I assume you can take us there."

"I can and I will, let's go."

* * *

Sirius was frustrated and lonely. He hadn't seen Harry since dinner yesterday and became disillusioned with trying to read the book about defensive magic as it just made him upset that he couldn't practice any of it without a wand. He had then practiced Occlumency and gotten himself on a more even keel.

He next tried to do a basic Protego wandlessly. He could do some wandless magic but had never taken the time to broaden his repertoire of wandless spells but he had plenty of time for that now. He was starting to think he was making progress when he was startled by the appearance of a fox Patronus and nearly fell out of his chair in reaction.

In Roxanne's voice it said, "I found Sami, we are on our way to see you."

For a moment, he stared at the spot where the Patronus had been and wondered who the hell Sami was. Then his memory came back of the healer trainee he had told her about and then he remembered Sami with fondness. He'd been intrigued with her no-nonsense manner, humour and her caring nature. He'd met her during the desolate time after Marlene's death. He hadn't been ready for anything more than a casual friendship with any woman at that time, otherwise he would have taken more of an interest in her. Now, he was facing the prospect of meeting her again after all of these years.

Then his heart sank, he looked a fright! He hurried in to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror, noting how awful he looked but then nearly had to laugh at himself. She was a healer coming to treat him, not a friend or as more than a friend. How he looked should be irrelevant. That didn't explain why he'd been in such a hurry to check himself though. He pushed that thought away, he had enough to worry about and there was no use in putting yet another issue in front of himself.

He had then gone back and sat in his easy chair to wait. He had to start to use Occlumency to calm his racing thoughts. He wasn't some bloody schoolboy anymore. Why was he making such a fuss about meeting a healer? A mocking voice in the back of his mind tried to tell him why but he forced it to shut up. He then heard the knock at the outside door and his mouth seemed to dry up, it was show time!

* * *

Samantha really wanted a way out of this trap but she hadn't been able to find one. She would have gladly joined someone else's department but the other department heads didn't want to draw the chief of staff's ire so she was trapped. She volunteered where she could but there was nothing else for her in St. Mungo's or at least not until they got a new chief. She had no nest egg nor even a family to give moral support so the obvious disdain for what she wanted to do made private practice equivalent to financial suicide.

She was pondering going to Rose to see if anyone needed help when she thought she heard someone approaching. She waited for a knock that never came so it must have been her imagination again. She decided to follow through on her thought and emerged to go find Rose but stopped in surprise to see an obviously wealthy pureblood woman in the hall right in front of her.

She had to clamp down hard on her reaction. This was just the sort of person who had put her in this position of impotence. She must be lost so she could give her directions to be rid of her. She was shocked to learn this woman was actually looking for her and started to hope there might be a way out for her but then she heard the name.

Greengrass. She knew of that family, a family who did nothing to oppose the man who'd had her parents killed and impacted so many families she had come into contact with. What on earth would someone like her want with a half-blood tainted with Muggle ideas? When the woman mentioned a private patient she was suspicious but then just about anything was better than the mess that was her current professional life.

This was most likely just a temporary diversion but a patient was a patient. She'd just have to be careful about getting herself involved in something that would get her into trouble. She'd undoubtedly be considered disposable to someone like her.

The mention of the patient's problem was exactly what she wanted to work on, this was becoming intriguing and perhaps she was not just the random choice of a sacrificial lamb by a pureblood family. There was still the question of what was going on and her urgency about confidentiality wasn't altogether reassuring. Perhaps there was a problem with a squib in the family? That's the sort of thing a woman like her would want to keep quiet.

Then came the question about her exile. It was an unpleasant subject but somewhat reassuring as at least the woman seemed to care about the quality of care that she might be able to provide. Someone hidden in the basement wouldn't be anyone's first choice for a healer so this woman did have cause to question her.

She watched her carefully as she revealed her blood status and how she'd come to be exiled but didn't get the reaction she expected. This woman didn't seem to care about blood status and she certainly didn't seem surprised by nor attempt to defend what had happened to her. Perhaps she was judging this woman too harshly.

She became more relaxed when it turned out they had attended Hogwarts together but for the life of her she did not remember a Roxanne Lannister. When she brought up her name, she knew she'd have some fun with this. She seemed to enjoy the story despite her ignorance of the television show she'd been forever associated with due to her mother.

Her thoughts took a completely different direction when she brought up her time with the Aurors. She had obviously researched her but then another possibility occurred to her. Perhaps her need for her services had something to do with her time with the Aurors? She was trying to puzzle that out when it came to a head. She wasn't ready to commit to doing anything but she felt comfortable enough with this woman to consider the whole conversation to be confidential.

Then she brought up dementors and that meant Azkaban but she'd not heard of any releases from the prison although it was possible they weren't announced. Then it all started falling into place for her. She had met a man with the Aurors whom she knew was a recent resident of Azkaban but he had escaped, not been released. She'd always found his guilt hard to swallow so she wouldn't object to him as a patient but she nearly blurted out his identity and caught herself just in time.

The fact that Roxanne had thought ahead so much to protect their conversation helped her get over the last of her reluctance. She was in and she was going to do the best for the man she'd met so many years ago. A man she'd thought she would never see again and a man she had liked when he'd been too wounded to consider getting involved. Her timing had been awful then but she could be there for him now. This wasn't time for any more talk, it was time for action!

Their journey passed in a blur, she knew there'd been wards to cross, an impression of a beautiful green area and an imposing manor in the distance but once she found out their objective was in the outbuilding they were headed for, she paid no attention to anything else.

As the woman she had followed knocked on the outside door, she stood to the side so she could see past her when the door opened. Her heart fell when she saw him, he looked much too thin and his eyes were much too ready to look away. This was not the man she remembered, this was a damaged shell of the man she had known but this was what she had trained for, what she would finally get a chance to do. She would bring him back, restore him as much as was possible, this she swore to herself.

She watched him as he greeted Lady Greengrass and herself and saw interesting differences. She was getting the behaviour that she expected from someone suffering from PTSD. His eyes seemed haunted and his gaze just seemed to slip away from her as if unable to look at her for very long. However, he didn't react that way to Lady Greengrass so it was odd and inconsistent. Then another explanation occurred to her that would be very flattering. After all he'd been through, did he fancy her? It would be convenient and selfish of her to believe that so as a healer, she had to push that theory aside.

She observed how he walked and although he seemed a bit weak, he also seemed to be uninjured. When he was seated again, she began casting every diagnosis spell she could think of and saw it made him uneasy. He just sat there and didn't express any resistance. The physical results were encouraging despite confirming his long-term malnutrition. Physically, she could fix everything but there were fewer spells to reveal a patient's mental state. One of the spells she used was of her own creation and the result it gave confirmed her fears. Sirius Black was severely traumatized and it would take time to help him.

At long last, she had a patient to treat for exactly what she had prepared herself for but the circumstances were totally unforeseen. She'd have to come to him as he couldn't risk coming to her. The other unusual circumstance is her personal involvement with the patient, which would normally cause her to refer the patient. She'd have to constantly second-guess her conclusions to be sure she wasn't applying what she wanted to see to her patient. This wasn't just a difficult case on a professional level, it was going be trying to her personally as well. She had to halt her introspection as she realized they were waiting for her to say something.

"Well, Sirius, I see you are still getting yourself into more trouble than you can handle. You need to put some more meat on those bones and when was the last time you got some sun? You look like a bloody vampire!"

She was focussed on Sirius so she couldn't see Lady Greengrass' expression but Sirius looked mostly stunned but also slightly outraged. Good, she wanted to get a reaction to assess him.

His expression relaxed and he huffed out a laugh as he rolled his eyes. "Same old Sami, I see. I'm trying to 'put meat on my bones' as you so delicately put it and it's not my bloody fault I was in Azkaban!"

"Oh, so you didn't let yourself get outsmarted then?"

She saw his disgruntled expression and knew she'd guessed correctly. He seemed speechless so she raised her other point again. "Haven't you gone outdoors? Gotten a little sun?"

He huffed again. "A little."

"Then I prescribe more."

Lady Greengrass seemed amused. "You have an interesting way of approaching patients."

She gave her a half-smile and an appraising look. "As you know, I knew Sirius Black before and I know being nice doesn't work with him. You have to smack him on the head to get his attention and browbeat him into cooperating."

Sirius gave her a mock glare and affected a wounded voice. "I'm right here, you know and I can cooperate."

She turned her grin on Sirius then. "Really? That would be new."

Sirius grimaced and then sighed as he rubbed his face with his hands. "I've been in Azkaban long enough to be changed. Pranks aren't my main focus anymore. I have to be a godfather now and help take care of Harry."

He was starting to open up, maybe she needed to adjust her approach to him after all. That did leave one new question though. "Harry?"

"Harry Potter, my godson."

Now there was another surprise in a string of them she was getting today. She had a celebrity involved in her case too then. "I didn't realize that James had made you the godfather. Congratulations, then. As far as I know, his location is top secret."

He then exchanged looks with Lady Greengrass and she got a little confused. What was going on now? Her gaze flicked to Lady Greengrass when she spoke up.

"I trusted her with knowing about you but it's your call."

She looked back at Sirius as he nodded back at Lady Greengrass. That was interesting, he trusted Lady Greengrass and she wondered how that came to be.

"He's here."

Oh. The surprises just kept coming with this case. "I see. I will keep that confidential as well."

All he did is give her a small smile and she felt a flutter in her abdomen. Fantastic, was she a schoolgirl again as well? Time to focus and he had to give him a chance to send Lady Greengrass away if that is what he wanted. She took the opportunity to grab the chair by the desk so she could sit as well.

"I suspect you are suffering from what Muggles call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD for short. I will have to ask a lot of intrusive questions to assess your case and determine how to proceed. Are you ready? Do you want more privacy?"

He looked thoughtful before he looked towards Lady Greengrass. "I'm fine either way but you've been spending a lot of time away from your family trying to find help for me. You don't have to stay for this if you've got something better to do."

The other woman's eyes flicked between them and Sami wasn't sure she liked the secretive little smile she sent her way. "I'll give you two some privacy and look in on the children then." The woman approached her with her hand out so she stood again to shake hands.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Healer Stevens. The Greengrass family is in your debt. Just send the bill to..."

Sirius' voice interrupted them. "Me. If I'm the Lord Black then I have a lot of money and can pay my own way."

Sirius and the Greengrass woman had a brief staring contest and she conceded. "As you wish, Sirius." She then turned back to her and added, "If you need anything, just let me know and I'll get it for you."

"Thank you, Lady Greengrass. You are most kind."

"Please call me Roxanne."

Oh what the hell, it was time to admit that she had misjudged the woman. "Thank you, Roxanne. Please call me Sami, I prefer that to Samantha."

"As you wish, Sami." She then turned to Sirius and said, "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Roxy."

She couldn't help but stare at the door after Roxanne had left and wondered when she had become so prejudiced. Her previous thoughts about Roxanne now had her feeling rather embarrassed and humbled. Her attention returned to Sirius when he spoke up.

He looked uncharacteristically earnest as he said, "She's a good woman. She was one of Lily's best friends."

"Ah, I didn't know that. I never met Lily but heard how James spoke of her and I wish I'd gotten the chance now. It's amazing how friendship can spread to other people, isn't it?"

That appeared to make Sirius ponder her statement solemnly for a few moments. "That's a good point, I hadn't really thought about it before." Then he grinned and asked, "So, is it time to start poking around in my head then?"

She smiled at him, it was nice to see some of the old Sirius even though he could be annoying sometimes. It was even better to see that he had real support here as that could make a big difference.

* * *

Cyrus surveyed his slightly extended family during dinner with an Occlumency trance already suppressing his emotions. The absence of their newest guest had affected two of the members of that extended family here but in completely different ways. He was content to see his wife looking less stressed than the previous day, he hadn't needed to hear her report of her success to see how heartened she was by the development and he couldn't help but feel some of that himself, despite the trance. Unfortunately, the effect on Harry was negative, the inability to see his godfather that day had visibly disturbed the boy and it was rather obvious that they needed to consider scheduling now that they had professional help for the Lord Black. For what he had to consider this evening, he had to think of him as the Lord Black rather than as Sirius.

He also had to meet and form his own opinion of this healer who would need some sort of regular access to their home. He couldn't help but feel somewhat unsettled by the recent compromises to the security around his home but he didn't see any way out of them, they were each necessary but cumulative. He just hoped that this trend did not continue, he wouldn't like having to draw a line as it could become an ultimatum. On the other hand, how much risk could he tolerate that could endanger not only his immediate family, but possibly also the entire Greengrass clan.

His wife and he also had another mission: to find out how much they could tell Sirius about Harry's issues as they were hiding some stressful facts from not only him but Harry as well. Whether they would tell Harry should be a joint decision but first they had to find out if Sirius himself could handle the stress at this point. He certainly couldn't blame Harry for this but it certainly seemed that everything related to the boy seemed to be complicated.

The meal had ended and he waited without paying much attention while his wife told the children where they were going and when they'd be back. As they began to leave, he noticed Daphne trying to reassure Harry but his focus was elsewhere so he didn't really think about it. He was pulling up his Occlumency to be completely unemotional and logical as he'd have to make some important decisions and he needed to observe everything and consider everything that night without any distractions. A familiar veil of sorts came between him and everything around him, he could observe all and consider all with no emotions to get in the way.

As they finally started making their way towards Lord Black and the healer, he noticed Roxanne giving him somewhat concerned looks but they had to talk later anyway, she could bring up any concerns she had then so he spoke before she could. "I will talk to the Lord Black about some planning for how to approach members of the Wizengamot while you ask the healer about what we can discuss with him." She gave him another look but nodded her agreement so he knew that he'd be able to concentrate on the encounter to come.

He found it mildly interesting when she stopped at the outside door and knocked but he was deep in his trance and let none of that show in his manner. He was just concluding that she did it due to the healer being with him when he heard someone coming. He observed Lord Black as he greeted him by his first name and noted a difference between his manner between himself and that given to his wife. He was comfortable and friendly with her but more careful and reserved with him.

He thought that was the proper way for it to be between them but had to push away a vague feeling of disappointment. He had no time or need for such nonsense now, this was important family business and he could not afford to take anything more seriously than that. He observed the healer who had remained standing in his room as they greeted each other. He hadn't tested them but he was aware of substantial Occlumency shields on her mind so she was competent in that at the very least.

He noted her reaction as she looked at Lord Black and he couldn't help but sense more than the normal care of a healer for a patient. Questions began to flood into his mind to be considered later. Could they have been involved in their prior contact? Was it wise to use her as a healer for someone she was probably interested in? On the other hand, what choice did they have? She seemed to have the qualifications for the job and had agreed to keep this confidential. He had been pleasantly surprised when his wife found someone willing to keep the secret so quickly and starting over did not appeal to him.

As they discussed his treatment after Lord Black agreed they should be informed, he dispassionately noted that his recovery was measured in months. It had taken almost 12 years for him to become what he was now and it intrigued him that he could be put right in under a year. He was impressed when she proposed using a potion she co-designed with a famous potions master at St. Mungo's that would help control his anxiety. It must not be in general use or it would have already come to his attention. He knew that mental issues weren't as easily fixed as physical ones so this could be an important advancement with consequences he would have to consider in his own business. He was also reassured about her competence and dedication during the discussion as she was quite earnest about what she would do for him.

They easily arranged for her to see him in the mornings allowing him to be available for his godson after that and the Lord Black had been adamant on that point as well. He also noted some embarrassment on the healer's part towards his wife, which brought other questions to his mind. She hadn't mentioned any friction or misunderstanding between them so either his wife thought it unimportant or the healer was especially sensitive to her effect on others.

As their initial meeting broke up, he bade the healer farewell and allowed his wife to escort her and seek her guidance without Lord Black's knowledge as well. He produced his list of the members of the Conservative faction and noted that the initial review revealed two possible sources of support, which could bolster their future plans. He assured Lord Black that there was no rush on this part of the plans and he could consider the list further and they could talk more on some future date. He then reassured the Lord Black that although his godson had missed him that day, Harry fully supported his godfather's recovery and understood. He withdrew to allow the tired patient to rest while he would wait near the house for his wife so they could consult privately. He had also noticed that the Lord Black had given him considering looks but not brought up the subject so he might be hearing from him about this night later.

* * *

Roxanne became a bit concerned when she saw her husband being deeper into his Occlumency than usual all through dinner. They did have some decisions to make but this seemed a little too serious for that and she began to wonder if he was having second thoughts about what they were doing. She'd have to watch him for signs of resistance as this could become a big problem but they had a lot to do tonight and she wouldn't jeopardize that with premature concerns.

While the four of them talked in Sirius' quarters, she again got the feeling that there could be something between the two of them but the healer's dedication to restoring Sirius was even more evident. She was fascinated by the potion she wanted to use and although it was not a cure, it reduced the symptoms and with other treatment, made it easier to achieve a cure. She was surprised that she had never heard of it and noted that Cyrus was now aware of the potential impact of this new potion. She snuck a look at Sirius as she was talking about how she planned to treat him and had to hide her smile at his he looked to be almost in awe of her. There was definitely some interest in her on his part as well.

Although the meeting greatly reassured her, she wasn't getting much of her husband's reaction to it. He seemed to accept everything in the meeting and he played his part well when he stayed with Sirius while she took Sami to the Apparition point. She knew this was family business so she kept her concerns to herself. They'd have to talk later anyway and she'd get his true reaction then.

She realized she'd have to stop the introspection as they had to stop and talk before Sami left. "Sami, there is some stressful news that we've been withholding from Sirius and I wanted to get your opinion if we should tell him."

"I could tell you were anxious to talk about something. Is it about Sirius? How stressful is it?"

This was going to be awkward to talk about as she couldn't reveal the news. "It's about his godson and it isn't necessarily bad but it is serious."

They stopped and Sami looked back intently. "Is it something he can help with?"

"Not really, there isn't much anyone can do right now. It's something he should know as his godfather and it might help them both afterwards if he already knows what is going on. We'd also like his opinion on telling Harry about it."

Certainty settled into her features before she answered. "That last part is the key, you should tell him. What came out throughout our time talking is how intent he is on being there for his godson. There will be trouble if you don't tell him. Although it will take him time to react well to abrupt surprises, I think you can expect positive responses from him despite any stress of the subject if he has time to absorb the stressful news."

"I sort of expected that. We'll talk to him about it then."

"Is it something that I can help with?"

That hadn't occurred to her but she was inclined to be in favour of it. "Not now, but later, probably."

She gave Sami an inquisitive look at seeing how seriously she was regarding her. "Sirius is lucky to have a friend like you."

While that was flattering, that wasn't how she saw this. "I suppose but I just think it is important for friends to be there for each other. My time knowing Lily helped convince me of that fact. I know she'd be there for him if she could so it is left to me. I also consider him a friend of my own and I know he'd help me if I needed it. He deals with things by clowning around but he can be considerate and serious, no pun intended."

That got a small smile from Sami before she got back to business. "So, what about the wards?"

"I have to discuss that with my husband tonight. We'll settle that tomorrow when you're here. Will you be able to come in the morning?"

"Absolutely, I have no desire to take any of his time away from his godson, it would be highly counterproductive. You'd have to come for me?"

"For tomorrow, yes. Should I go to St. Mungo's?"

"No, best to meet at my apartment. Here's my card. I could take you side-along if you wish."

"OK, let's go into the Apparition area."

She led Sami to the area, showed her the boundaries and then took her arm and after a moment of tightness and disorientation, they were in the hallway outside an apartment. She hadn't gone side-along in quite a while and had forgotten how disorienting it could be. She got her bearings so she'd be sure she could return on her own.

"When should I come?"

"Would 8:30 be too early?"

"Not at all, I'll see you then. Thanks again for helping Sirius, it's a relief to get him the proper help."

"It's not a problem, it's what I've trained for, what I am called to do."

She had a feeling she had another motive but kept it to herself. "Goodbye, Sami."

"Goodbye, Roxanne."

She reappeared in their Apparition area and she made her way towards the house and saw her husband waiting for her. Now it was time to find out what was really going on in that head of his. Her first impression wasn't good, he was still completely stoic and terse in what he said.

"What did you think of her?"

It wasn't time to push him yet. "I like her and she seems quite competent."

"I'm a little concerned about a healer who may become involved with her patient but given how much confidentiality means to us, I doubt we'll find anyone better."

His concern there was legitimate but not too concerning in her opinion. "I see her interest as extra motivation to make him well."

He seemed noncommittal but gave her a small nod anyway. She decided it was time to see if they had an issue. "Are you having second thoughts?"

At first he gave her a blank look like he had no idea what she was talking about. She tried to give him a determined look when she added, "I'm talking about Harry, Sirius and Sami. I'm fully behind all of them, we need to give her open access to Sirius and we have to follow through on our commitments." His face relaxed and she saw him coming out of his Occlumency trance, at last she was going to have her husband to talk to instead of that 'family business mask' of his.

"I'm fully committed to Harry, not only is he important to our oldest but I also do feel an obligation to his family. I'm content with our help for Lord Black and if we restrict the healer access to the first two wards, I can accept that as well."

"But?"

"I do have a concern about opening up our security any more than we already have." He must have seen her growing concern as he then added, "I know that I sound paranoid but we live in a dangerous world and we have real enemies. On top of that we have the Dark Lord to worry about again."

She couldn't suppress a small grin as she responded. "Harry would tell you not be afraid of his made up name – Voldemort."

He rolled his eyes and a smile finally appeared on his face as well. "I prefer Riddle as it puts him in his proper place, he's a pretender and nothing more than that. A dangerous and powerful pretender but a pretender nonetheless."

"Riddle it is, then." She went in for a hug and was gratified to get a strong hug in return. They were still on the same page after all.

Cyrus looked curious as he spoke again. "Did something happen between you and the healer that you didn't mention? She seemed to be a little embarrassed around you."

"Oh, that. I'm trying to reassure her but I think that given her experience with pureblood prejudices, she sees any pureblood such as you or me as a potential adversary. She was very careful with me at first until she found out she had a real patient to consider. She's been fine since then and I have no problem with her about her initial reaction."

He looked thoughtful then. "I see. If I get a chance, I'll try to help you with that, getting Sirius well is important for all of us."

She couldn't help it, he was being very nice about everything so she gave him a meaningful kiss, which he immediately responded to. That was the moment that she decided that tonight was a good time to show him her new negligée.

* * *

Remus Lupin sat at his old but clean table with his head in his hands, an unopened bottle of firewhiskey and a glass in front of him and a letter he'd received that day between his elbows. He was in an old cottage that he'd inherited from his parents that had seen better days. He was barely scraping by with a series of intermittent Muggle jobs and lacked the resources to make improvements. He could only keep it clean and fix obvious damage as he could with his magic.

Things had just started to look up for him. He had just accepted Dumbledore's job offer and he'd have his best paying job ever, along with room and board for most of the year. It would not only help him get his finances in order, he'd finally get to meet Harry. He'd tried one last time to owl the boy at Hogwarts when he would have been in his first year but his attempt failed yet again. Between that and being put off by Dumbledore all of the time, he'd pretty much given up on ever meeting the boy and he'd been looking forward to it.

Then, totally unexpectedly, he gets a letter from Harry at long last and it turns out to be a metaphorical bomb that destroyed some things he'd thought he'd known. Although it had still left a bitter taste in his mouth, he'd come to accept that Sirius had betrayed them all. Now he found out that he'd misjudged one of his few friends and Sirius had been put through the hell of Azkaban for nothing and he was an innocent man. It had been hard to accept at first with him having lived with what he thought were the facts for nearly 12 years. Now his certainties were thrown to the winds and he felt like he had no solid ground beneath him at all.

There was another disturbing impression from his letter as Harry's assurance that he was healthy and happy carried with it the assumption that this was not always the case. He'd been vague about where he was now but wherever he had been before was not ideal and if it had been bad, that just piled on further guilt. Had he not been thorough enough in seeking out Harry? He'd thought he'd taken all reasonable avenues of contact but had he missed something? Had Harry been through a bad situation also? Had he let two people suffer instead of just one? He wanted an answer but he feared the answer as well.

He had to respond to the letter now, he couldn't bear to wait. He looked up and saw the bottle waiting for him and decided the first step was to put it away, it would solve nothing. He had accepted some responsibilities as a professor now but he also had responsibilities as a friend and as a sort-of-uncle if he'd be allowed the chance. Even a small chance at that was better than nothing at all. He grabbed the bottle and went in search of parchment after putting the bottle back on the shelf.

* * *

The morning had been interesting even though it was about history as Roxanne was an incredibly better professor than the ghost they had to deal with at Hogwarts. He knew the comparison would not be that complimentary to Roxanne but the difference was like night and day. However, he'd also brought his mother's Arithmancy workbook with him and was distracted by the prospect of showing it to Roxanne. He really needed her help to make significant progress on deciphering it but a small part of him feared that she'd not be interested in helping despite both his experience with her and Daphne's reassurances.

She had seemed to notice his preoccupation but didn't call him on it since he did participate and he been able to discuss what they had read. When she had finally said that they were done for the day, he knew he'd been fairly obvious when he heard her question. "So, Harry, is it time to show me that workbook you've been obsessing over?"

His eyes flicked to Daphne, wondering if she had tipped off her mother but her smile and shaking head assured him that she had not. He'd been that obvious then, oh well, he'd known he hadn't fully mastered Occlumency yet.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to come up with how to respond in this situation but nothing brilliant came to mind. "It's an Arithmancy workbook my mother was working on that has the equations from the Peverell grimoire I found in the Potter vault. I'm going to need some help in figuring out what it means."

Her look of surprise confirmed that she'd had no advance knowledge of what it was but what she said deflated his hopes. "That makes it family magic, Harry. Are you certain that it is appropriate to show it to me?"

Cyrus had taught him that most families guarded their family magic closely but that it was up to the head of the family, not an absolute requirement. He knew he couldn't take his position as Lord Potter yet but someday he would, wasn't it his decision? He'd also said it was also possible to release some family magic with allied families and with one's spouse. The latter was way off although he did catch himself glancing towards Daphne at that thought but the first one could apply here. After all of their help, how could he consider them anything but allies?

"I'm the only heir left, if it isn't up to me then who else can decide?"

She gave him a very indulgent look as she replied, "I don't dispute that, Harry and I'm just asking if you're certain, that's all."

He nodded emphatically. "I'm certain. Would you consider helping me?"

Her smile made him feel warm all over. "Harry, I will always be ready to help you, even with something unpleasant. I can assure you even before seeing it that I am eager to help in this case."

"Told you."

Harry turned to a smirking Daphne and had to concede that she had indeed told him. "Yes, you did tell me." He rolled his eyes at her and she chuckled while he quickly explained what he had figured out, which was all about who had done what but nothing about the Arithmancy itself. He watched her as she looked through the pages of his parents' notes and saw mainly amazement but sometimes puzzlement.

Finally she looked up at him and said, "This is some very advanced Arithmancy and it's going to take me a while to catch up with what your mother has deduced from this. However, I recognized the notation that she used to record wand movements. We are trying to reverse engineer a spell from the Arithmantic equations and your mother made a lot of progress although she did not finish. Was this in the Potter vault also?"

He wondered why she asked but answered quickly. "Yes."

"I wonder if she continued this work after putting this in the vault. Based on what I heard though, I'm not sure there is anything left of what she may have had with her at the Godric's Hollow cottage."

The word 'Cottage' triggered a new thought process in Harry's mind. Why would they have been in a cottage? The Potters were quite wealthy, didn't they have a well-protected manor like the Greengrass family? "Cottage? Why where they in a cottage? The Potter family was old and wealthy, they must have a manor house, why weren't they there?" He saw the subtle shift in Roxanne's expression, she seemed to become sad and he wondered why.

"I think that is something you'd best ask Sirius. I didn't have much contact with your mother after they went into hiding so I don't know much about that. As for Lily's progress beyond what we see in this workbook, he's the best source for that also. We'll visit him after lunch."

Harry felt bad for bringing up sad memories but he'd had no idea his mother had been so isolated even from her friends. It sort of made sense though, people couldn't be coming and going from their hiding place without attracting attention. "I'm sorry I brought up bad memories, Roxanne. I didn't mean to do it."

"You only asked a question about your family, you have nothing to feel sorry about." She reached over to touch his hand briefly as she continued. "Harry, I am eager to help you any way I can, even if some memories might be painful. I know that I'm not your mother and I'm not trying to replace Lily in your heart but she can't be here for you. I feel privileged that I can be here for you, to help you as a mother would. Harry, all you need to do is ask and I will do all that I can for you."

Harry felt gobsmacked and choked up all at the same time so all he could do is whisper a thank you to her. Between Roxanne's quiet assurance and a sympathetic look and touch from Daphne, he decided to just drop the issue until they saw Sirius. He was distracted through lunch and paid little attention when Roxanne arranged for Astoria to visit a friend for the afternoon. He was pensive even when they were on their way to see Sirius.

He didn't focus on the here and now until Roxanne knocked on the outside door of the servants' quarters. He saw Sirius give them a genuine grin to see the three of them although his eyes still looked a bit off.

"Hey Roxy, Harry and Daphne. It's good to have visitors." He looked up at the partly cloudy sky and then continued. "Since the weather is decent, why don't we sit outside?"

Roxanne asked, "Is Sami gone?"

"Yes, she left when Mipsy brought lunch."

"How is it going?"

Harry noticed that Sirius hesitated a moment before responding. "It's starting to look like a long process. I seem to have issues beyond my time in Azkaban. She says I need to come to terms with all of it to be really well again."

Roxanne gave him a sympathetic look before responding, "She did say it would take months and she is the expert. We'll just have to be patient."

As they approached the chairs Sirius responded with attempted levity, "That's not my strong suit I'm afraid."

Although the rest of them chuckled, the atmosphere remained tense for Harry. He looked to Roxanne to start things off but she was looking at him. "Harry, why don't you ask your questions?"

Briefly, he felt put on the spot but then he realized she was trying to let him set the priorities, which he appreciated. Although another subject had started this whole thing, his primary interest had shifted. "Did the Potter family have a manor? I mean they were an old and rich family, it seems odd my parents would end up in a cottage." He saw a solemn look take over his godfather's face and felt a twinge of regret yet again but how else could he learn about what had happened?

"There is indeed a Potter Manor but I'll have to give you a bit of family history to explain why they didn't hide there. You see, the warning to hide came just after the deaths of your father's parents. He hadn't even had the chance to take over all of the wards and evaluate them at that time. They decided the fastest way to hide was to start over at one of their smaller properties. Your parents had always liked the cottage in Godric's Hollow so they chose it and Lily cast the Fidelus on it."

Harry got excited, there was a manor for him to visit! "Can we go see the manor?"

"Sorry, P… I mean Harry, he put it into full shutdown stasis. Only the Lord Potter can awaken it so you'll have to wait until are 17 and take your lordship."

He hid his disappointment as well as he could, there'd been enough sad feelings this day. However, another important question came to him. "Was Dumbledore given the secret of their location?"

"Yes, that was one of the first things we did. Peter wrote the location down and then I'd show it to whoever we wanted to know. We tried to fool everyone that I was the secret keeper."

"So Dumbledore didn't know Peter was the real secret keeper?"

Sirius' eyes hardened but his voice didn't change. "Not as far as I know, unless he read the will."

"One Fang told me he hadn't read the Gringotts copy but he didn't know about the Ministry copy."

Sirius was taking it calmly or at least more calmly than Harry. "I assume then that he never knew the truth."

To Harry though, it was still an open question, his trust in the headmaster was negligible at this point. "I found an Arithmancy workbook that my mother was working on, it relates to the Peverell grimoire. Do you know anything about that?"

Harry saw the first real enthusiasm from Sirius for this conversation. "You found that? She said it was a fascinating puzzle but she had figured out it was a revealing charm so you could read the book. The last I heard though, she hadn't fully figured it all out yet. Of the Marauders, only Remus took Arithmancy but your mother was a natural so it was obvious for your father to turn to your mother for help."

Harry was distracted as he heard Roxanne mutter, "A revealing charm?" She then buried her head in the workbook and he wondered if they had lost her attention for the rest of the conversation.

"Do you know if she kept working on it? The workbook was in the Potter vault so she didn't have it with her at the cottage."

Sirius became more solemn again. "I think she put it off. They were sort of busy staying safe. Your mother was always coming up with scenarios of what to do if they were found. She was researching spells that they could use to protect themselves. I think she put that aside for more important things."

That made sense to Harry but at least they had a new clue, it was a revealing charm. He looked over and saw his girlfriend's head near her mother's as she peered at the workbook too. Now that sight was enough to put a smile on his face.


	5. Casting Out Demons

Chapter 5 Casting Out Demons

A/N: I am far enough ahead that I've decided to release two chapters before the year ends. I hope everyone enjoys the story and thanks again to my beta Shygui for making this story better than it would have been.

And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup... – Winston Churchill

After a pleasant dinner, Cyrus Greengrass led a suspicious Sirius Black back to his apartment and he hoped that his wife was being more successful at distracting the children without making them suspicious as well. "We are going to meet a friend of mine, an Unspeakable. As far as your whereabouts are concerned, you know an Unspeakable knows how to keep a secret and he will do that for us. He has recent news concerning Harry and we want to share it with you."

Lord Black did not look at all reassured. "That sounds ominous."

"It's not good but it could have been much, much worse. I don't want to get too far into this until my friend arrives, he has recent news even I haven't had time to absorb." He felt the notification from his wards, Robert had arrived. "In fact, I need to go get him now, we'll meet in your apartment."

He saw the worried look on the man's face and felt bad about the timing but he wanted this done all at once anyway. He hurried to their Apparition point and found his friend waiting and enjoying the view. "Hello, Robert. I'm afraid the Lord Black is a little anxious to hear what we'll say."

His friend looked nervous and asked, "Are you sure he's innocent?"

What in the world? They had settled this! "Do you really think I'd allow him within my wards if I didn't know he was innocent?"

Robert started chuckling and he knew he'd fallen for his friend's odd sense of humour once again. He shook his head and exaggerated his disappointment, "Really, Robert?"

"Just trying to calm you down, you're wound too tight sometimes, Cyrus."

He led his friend through the ward as he replied, "And you aren't wound tightly enough."

Robert wasn't done yet though. "Only compared to you."

Cyrus just feigned a long-suffering sigh and his friend chuckled yet again. They'd had similar conversations in the past and although they disagreed, he valued his friend's knowledge and intellect too much to let it bother him. Everyone had quirks, Merlin knew he had some of his own and just possibly he might be wound too tight. It would be hard for him to judge but he had a wife to keep him honest, she wouldn't let him stray too far from their path in life.

He hesitated momentarily at the outside door as he considered whether to knock there instead of the interior door but discarded it. He knew Sirius would be anxious to start the conversation as soon as possible so they continued and he knocked on the apartment door as usual.

* * *

Sirius paced his room as he had been left to stew over what little had been shared with him so far. He'd thought that Harry's time with the Dursleys was the only 'bad news' there was but apparently there was more. Of course, that bloody prophecy wasn't good either. Also, that 'it could have been worse' line wasn't really helping much either. That's what you say when the news isn't good at all.

The knock on the door was startling even though it was expected. His overreaction to surprises and his anxiety were making him excitable and nervous. He focussed on trying for an Occlumency trance as he went to the door.

As he opened the door, his eyes skipped over Cyrus quickly as he greeted him, "Please come in, Cyrus." He looked at the stranger and saw him looking back seriously with a hint of curiosity. Well he was a wanted escaped convict, he should expect some inquisitiveness.

The man suddenly gave a small bow and said, "Greetings, Lord Black, you can call me Robert." He certainly didn't want to stand on ceremony when he disliked it and was anxious to get to business as well. The stranger was a typical Unspeakable, he was probably under a glamour and he strongly doubted the man's name was really Robert. "Then call me, Sirius, Robert." He offered his hand and they shook briefly before he gestured the man in.

The man conjured a chair while Cyrus took the desk chair so Sirius wandered back to his easy chair. He wasn't going to beat around the bush, "What do you have to tell me?" His two visitors glanced at each other and then it was Cyrus who turned to him and spoke.

"Harry didn't tell you much of our first stop with Robert, other than to talk about his mother's protection. There was more to it than he knew. Robert knew there was more to his scar than magic but didn't know what it was for certain so he got back to me on that later." Cyrus' face became very grave before he continued. "Do you know what a Horcrux is?"

Why the hell was he asking that? That was some seriously dark magic that even his family had thought to be too evil to perform. Then it hit him as that must be how Voldemort has survived as a wraith. "Bloody hell! The diary? That was a Horcrux?" It all made sense to him now, he should have realized there was something especially vile about that cursed object. "Does that mean this is all over now? But that would be good news…."

Cyrus's expression darkened even further and he hadn't thought it was possible. "It would be over if that was the only one he made."

For a moment, Sirius felt like he couldn't breathe. He had to calm himself down and pushed himself into an Occlumency trance and managed to regain control over his rampaging emotions. Then another question came to him and his eyes snapped open. "What does that have to do with Harry's scar?"

"Robert can give a better accounting of that than I can."

The Unspeakable gave Cyrus a brief glare before facing Sirius and beginning to speak. "I recorded the magic around Harry's scar and showed it to a more experienced colleague. The thing I couldn't identify in Harry's scar was a soul shard – from Voldemort. Our guess is that Voldemort would go for a magically significant number for his Horcruxes, either 3 or 7 as 13 would be too much even for that nutter. Based on how fragile his soul must have been that night, I believe he went for seven."

Sirius was hanging on by the skin of his teeth. "Are you saying that Harry is a Horcrux?"

Robert looked a little annoyed and shook his head no violently. "No, not at all. There is a ritual to prepare the vessel and that never happened. It should have also been protected by curses, which also was never done. Besides, this was a very unlikely event as not only is a living being a poor choice as a Horcrux, another human is the worst possible choice. The two souls should have been battling for control of the body."

He had to cling desperately to his trance to maintain any control at all but he still rose from his chair and roared in anger, "Then we need to get that bloody thing out of him! NOW!"

Even in his rage, he was surprised to note how calmly the two regarded him. Robert serenely but forcefully declared, "His mother's protection is dealing with it, there is nothing we need to do. It is only a matter of time until it is gone."

Slowly he recovered full control and sat back down and hid his amusement to see relief in Robert's face. However, he suddenly realized that brought up a new question. "Why is Lily's protection only just now taking care of it after nearly 12 years?"

He had to hide amusement again as Robert reacted with excitement and satisfaction. "That is _exactly_ the question that I sought to answer! I found the answer buried in the yard of Harry's Muggle relatives in Surrey. There was a ward stone created with runes and blood magic, binding to his mother's protection to protect that home and all within from anyone with ill intent. However, it was based on Harry considering that place home, which appears to be unlikely based on what little I know of his situation. Also, his mother's protection was aimed solely at the man who took her life and tried to take her son's – Voldemort himself. Between those two things, this protection crafted by Dumbledore was never as powerful as it should have been. The magic in that rune stone was incredible! The power of the blood used should have created astonishingly strong wards but that never happened due to the weaknesses I pointed out."

Robert's face pretty much glowed with enthusiasm but Sirius was not inclined to be distracted from his concern. "And that explains the delay how?"

Robert looked disconcerted and then sheepish. "Oh! Right, yes, well, you see having the wards tied to his mother's protection for power weakened it. It was obviously still strong enough to contain the soul shard as it apparently never got the chance to affect the boy but it was too weak to expel it. When Harry got here for the summer, he must have decided that this was now his home as the wards completely disappeared and the link was broken. Since that moment, his mother's protection has been regaining strength and is now carrying out its purpose – protecting Harry from any harm from Voldemort, even a soul shard."

Sirius calmly considered what he had learned but his ire began to rise again. "So you are saying that due to Dumbledore's interference, Harry has had a piece of Voldemort in him when it should have been rejected years ago?"

Robert nodded emphatically as he responded, "Exactly!"

Despite having seen Dumbledore in a fight and knowing that he would likely not last for long, he really wanted to attack Dumbledore at that moment. That was a bit of a fantasy for a man who didn't even have a wand but still, he wanted to punish the old man somehow. He looked up again when Robert spoke.

"My supervisor is good friends with Albus. We may want to consider allowing him to explain to Albus just how stupid he was to do what he did."

If it would make the wanker feel bad, it was a good thing in Sirius' book but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy him, not by a long shot. He looked at Cyrus who was regarding him solemnly before Sirius replied, "I suppose so. He should know the harm he has done and that's just one of the things he needs to answer for." He saw Robert give Cyrus an uncomfortable look but Robert remained silent.

Cyrus gave Robert a look and said, "Tell him about the Horcrux hunt."

Robert brightened slightly but also looked slightly abashed. "Right. So based on the recording I made of the soul shard, I was able to create a device to detect more Horcruxes. We had a lead on where one might be since we know where Riddle came from. He obviously found the hovel where the remnants of the Gaunt family lived as we found one there. The good news it was destroyed despite a nasty compulsion charm and wasting curse on it. The bad news is that we had to get the device within 50 to 60 metres of the damned thing before it registered. My attempts to amplify the sensitivity results in too many false positives. I don't have a good way of finding more unless I already knew the general area that they are in."

"So there are up to five more?"

"Possibly, but he also might have wanted 7 pieces total, six Horcruxes and one original remaining shard."

Sirius did not feel comforted at all. "They might not all be in England, he had supporters from other places. They could be anything, anywhere."

Robert didn't seem to agree. "I agree on the anywhere but the 'what' he used is limited to significant objects or at least objects significant to Riddle. He wouldn't use some old boot as a Horcrux. We know he used his own diary, and a family heirloom from his mother's side of the family, actually it is his link to Slytherin as well. By the way, from the symbol on the stone of the ring he used, it may be linked to Peverell, I'm not sure about that yet."

Robert leaned in closer as if he was disclosing top secret information. "We also know he has at least two artefacts of the Hogwarts founders, a locket from Slytherin and a cup from Hufflepuff. They're just the sort of things he'd want to use to make himself more important than he really is."

Sirius huffed as the man seemed to have missed his point. "Fine, it won't be an old boot but they could be anywhere! We can't search the whole world!"

Robert finally looked discouraged. "I'll keep trying."

Sirius felt a flash of guilt as the man looked thoroughly chastised. "I know, I am not criticizing your effort. I just can't be optimistic about this, not until we know a hell of a lot more about what that bastard did. Hell, he could have hidden them under a Fidelus."

Again Robert shook his head no. "The person who casts the spell cannot also be the secret keeper. He'd either have to trust someone else to cast the spell or to be the secret keeper and I don't think a paranoid maniac like him could do either."

Sirius still thought he was on to something. "He could kill the person who cast it after they were done."

"That weakens the spell, it would only last two or three years after the death of the caster."

Well, that pretty much shot down that theory, Sirius had to concede the point. "Still, they could be anywhere."

Silence descended on the trio as they all looked pensive. Finally, Cyrus looked at Sirius and asked, "Do we tell Harry this?"

That started a war of feelings within Sirius as part of him wanted to protect Harry and part of him didn't want to take responsibility for keeping him in the dark. He buried his face in his hands as he struggled to come to a decision. It was the thought of being like Dumbledore if he kept the secret that forced his answer. "Yes, we have to."

Cyrus checked the time and then suggested, "It's late. We'd best do it tomorrow, after dinner."

Sirius nodded and replied, "Agreed."

They all felt tired and headed to their own beds.

* * *

Cyrus was jolted awake by a scream but it took him a split second to orient himself before he thought to check the state of the wards. He reached out with his magic to find that the wards were undisturbed and that everyone was where they were supposed to be, including their guest Lord Black. He finally detected that there had been a pulse of magic from Harry's room and hurried out of bed with his wand ready.

Before he got to the door his wife was up and following him. "What happened?"

"Disturbance in Harry's room."

"Sirius?"

"Where he's supposed to be."

They were in the hallway by then and he saw both of his daughters opening their doors. They were farther from Harry's room so he ignored them for now. When he got there, he opened the door to Harry's room and turned on the lights with a flick of his wand and stood there stunned for just a moment in horror but it was a moment too long. He not only heard a gasp from his wife but the startled shout of his eldest, "WHAT?!"

His wife stepped forward as he forced the door shut on his eldest and said, "We'll deal with this, wait outside!"

* * *

Astoria caught up to find her sister pushing ineffectively against a sealed door while she cried and muttered, "No, no, no". What was going on? Had Harry screamed? Why were they barred from the room? Her sister suddenly collapsed to the floor as if her legs had given way so she threw aside her questions and sat down beside her sister and pulled her into a strong hug, which her sister did nothing to either help or hinder.

She'd been so accustomed to the growing stoicism of her sister as she began to emulate their father more and more as the years went by that her abandonment of it regarding Harry was still strange to her. She'd seen happiness, embarrassment and even anger and it seemed odd coming from Daphne. Now she was seeing her seemingly shattered as she cried and mumbled incoherently so she was not only surprised but baffled. What had her sister seen to put her in such a state?

She was startled again as her mother burst from the room and then gave them a frantic look as she began to leave. "I'm going to get a healer, he's stable but we want him checked out. Don't try to go in."

Even Daphne had stopped sobbing to look at their mother as she disappeared around a corner, running as fast as she could. Astoria finally saw an opportunity to speak to her sister and took it. "What did you see?"

Her sister shivered and then muttered, "Blood. So much blood." She was then crying again and Astoria knew better than to try to learn more. She considered Harry a new friend and felt herself shudder as well. She swallowed nervously as she continued her ineffective attempts to console her sister. She realized that she was now seeing for herself that having a boyfriend was not all fun and games. Then she discerned she was sad herself although not as much as her sister. Perhaps this was just a reminder that life wasn't always pleasant or fair but she knew that she'd remember this life lesson for a long time. She felt her resolve hardening, dating and having a boyfriend was serious business and she'd better start treating it as such. No more playful flirting for her and she would keep her promise, it was time to start growing up.

* * *

Sami was still struggling with sleepiness and confusion as she tried to gather her wits. She'd opened her eyes only just in time to see the Patronus fade away but the frantic voice that she'd barely recognized as Roxanne's kept echoing in her mind. "We have a medical emergency! I'm coming for you! Be ready!"

She felt a chill go down her spine as she realized it must be about Sirius. Her mind started second guessing herself, had she been blind to warning signs? Had she missed something with her diagnostic spells? She shook her head to clear the self-doubt; she was a trained healer and pushed those questions aside as she got ready to go. She had just taken her emergency kit in hand when she heard frantic knocking on her flat's door. She called out that she was coming only to see Lady Greengrass in pyjamas with a frantic look on her face. She shut her door and immediately took the woman's arm and suddenly felt the effects of side-along Apparition.

She was surprised that after she was dragged through the wards by the frantic woman that they headed for the manor house rather than where she knew Sirius to be. That's when her sleepy brain finally pulled up the fact that she didn't need Roxanne to get to Sirius anymore. She had to be ready for a patient other than Sirius then but a patient was a patient. She'd give whomever it was her best effort, as always.

She barely let Roxanne lead the way as she was practically at her side and starting to feel the exertion in her legs as she was taking deep breaths to keep up. They finally seemed to near their destination as they saw two girls standing by a door, looking apprehensive and dishevelled. The older one approached her mother and pleaded, "Please, I have to see him." She paused at the door to catch her breath and looked back at Roxanne to see what they were going to do.

Roxanne gave her a considering look before she sighed and said, "Stay out of the healer's way."

As Roxanne approached the door, Sami opened it to get to her patient as soon as possible and was surprised to see Lord Greengrass sitting on the bed and looking down on a boy with concern. His face cleared as he stood up and moved away to give her access. Her first impression is that there was a lot of blood splattered around although the boy himself seemed to be cleaned up except for some blood still seeping from his forehead.

She was already moving her wand into position to heal him when his identity finally registered. She was about to treat the boy-who-lived himself: Harry Potter! She shook that thought away and was surprised at how well her spell worked, he was known for that scar and now it had seemingly ceased to exist. Why hadn't someone done that years ago if it was so easily accomplished?

She followed that with her standard series of diagnostic spells and found no physical trauma whatsoever, which was good but didn't explain why he seemed to be unconscious. She was dimly aware of Lord Greengrass excusing himself to go somewhere and continued her work unabated. She verified he was actually conscious with a spell but why was he unresponsive? He also seemed very troubled as if he was caught in a nightmare. She called to him but got no reaction and began to ponder what to try next.

* * *

Sirius had been sleeping a lot better since he started on the potion that Sami had given him and didn't even need the dreamless sleep potion any more. That didn't mean his nights were undisturbed, just that they were tolerable. Unfortunately, this night seemed like a restless one as he had awakened a few minutes ago with the feeling that something was wrong. His hearing and sense of smell were enhanced by his Animagus abilities and he quickly verified that he was alone. What could be wrong?

He was startled by the appearance of a Patronus but not as badly as before, the potion was really working. It said in Cyrus' voice, "I'm coming to take you to see Harry, he seems well but isn't responding."

Something must have happened, why else would they become aware of this in the middle of the night? He briefly considered dressing fully but discarded that to be ready sooner. He donned socks and his shoes and covered his pyjamas with his casual robes and had just exited the external door when he saw Cyrus approaching and he hurried to meet him halfway.

"What happened?"

He saw that Cyrus was mostly his usual stoic self but there was a hint of worry in his eyes, his jaw was taut and the set of his shoulders indicated that all was not well. "We aren't sure but something happened to his scar and the soul shard may be gone but whatever it was that happened, it wasn't as peaceful as I'd hoped. Sami is with him now."

Sirius listened to him as they hurried towards the manor and they had to slow down for Cyrus to safely pull him through the ward. He really wished this wasn't necessary but he wouldn't raise the issue yet as he still wasn't sure of himself. He would deeply regret any mishap caused by him trying to rush things, he'd continue to wait as long as necessary.

He was lost in dark thoughts as they hurried on into the manor. Why was all of this mad stuff happening to his godson? Possessed teachers after something hidden in a school of all things, a basilisk and a Gods-be-damned Horcrux in a bloody diary then he finds out that Harry has been carrying a piece of that evil git around with him all of this time! Please, please let this not be some new bit of madness!

They entered a bedroom with a blue theme and he saw everyone was here. The two girls were huddled near their mother and only the youngest glanced his way, Daphne's attention was fixed on Harry. Roxy looked haggard and worried, which made him feel even worse, this was no trivial matter. Then he looked at Sami who was bent over Harry alternately trying to get Harry's attention and casting a spell.

He noticed Cyrus gravitating towards his family and he moved to approach Sami. He waited until she looked at him to ask, "What is going on?"

The look on her face was not encouraging. "I wish I knew. He is not physically harmed, I healed his forehead with no problems but he won't respond. He's not unconscious but his mind is totally occupied with something and he's under stress and he doesn't respond to any external stimuli. I don't understand what is going on!"

Sirius glanced at Cyrus and Roxy but they were merely staring back, looking lost. He looked at Sami again and asked, "Did they tell you about the soul shard?"

"No. What soul shard?"

He glanced again at the Greengrasses and Roxy immediately offered, "We didn't have time to bring it up."

He nodded his acknowledgment and turned his attention back to Sami. "Right, short version then, it's a remnant from the night his parents were killed, a piece of Voldemort's soul broke off and attached itself to Harry. His mother's protection is still with him and was attacking the soul shard. It may have been cast out, we don't know."

Sami was giving him a horrified look before she turned back to Harry and seemed to concentrate hard and then cast another spell. She frowned when nothing happened so she tried it again. "He's not possessed, the spell was negative and I'm pretty sure I did it correctly."

She turned back to look at Sirius. "Who is closest to him? Who would have the best chance of getting his attention?"

"Me!"

Sirius wasn't very surprised that Daphne had responded, he was considering it when she addressed Sami. "Me. I'm his girlfriend and I helped teach him Occlumency, we've had glimpses of each other's minds a couple of times."

That was enough to convince him so when Sami looked questioningly back at him he nodded his agreement and he motioned Daphne forward. He was rather surprised when she ignored the blood still covering Harry's bed clothes and launched herself onto the bed ending up by Harry's side as quickly as she could manage it. She quickly grabbed one of his hands in hers and put her other hand on his face as she leaned over him and brought her face very close to his.

"Harry, it's me. It's Daphne. I'm here. Tell me what is wrong. Please, Harry, answer me!"

Her tone was urgent but soft, unfortunately, there was no response from Harry at all.

"Harry, please let me in! Let me help! I want to be there with you, please!"

Sirius was starting to wonder how long he should let her try before they let someone else try when suddenly, Harry's eyes snapped open and stared directly into hers. That was startling enough to break his concentration and he suddenly realized that everyone but Roxy and her youngest was clustered close to the bed and leaning in to hear and see what was going on. He hadn't noticed when that had happened.

"I remember….."

That brief whisper from Harry was all it took to narrow his focus down to the two teens once again.

Daphne urgently asked, "What do you remember?"

"Pettigrew took me to the cottage…. I attacked then killed my father…. Went up the stairs, found the nursery… Foolish woman, you don't need to die…. Killed her anyway…. Tried to kill me…. So much pain…."

Sirius nearly choked on the realization that Harry was remembering that night as if he was Voldemort. Was the shard still there? Was the shard speaking to them? But no, that made no sense as first, Sami should have been able to detect that. He said he'd tried to kill himself so it was still Harry but... with Voldemort's memories? It felt like his heart stopped beating and he struggled to take a breath.

Daphne's whispered response drew him from his introspection and horror. "Harry, you didn't do that, that was Voldemort."

One of Harry's hands shakily rose into the air and her hand left his cheek and then took his to put it against her cheek.

Harry's whisper was clearly distraught. "I remember everything he did. He's a monster and now he's in me. You have to go far from here. Forget me…."

She may have whispered her response but it was as intense as a shout. "Harry James Potter, don't you **dare** try to push me away! Do you remember me? Do you remember our time together? That was us, Harry. Us! Don't let _**him**_ come between _**us**_."

Harry looked confused but then seemed to try again. "But you could be hurt…."

"I'll take my chances, Harry. Being with you is better than just existing without you. You're a part of me now, Harry. Don't you feel me as being part of you? Don't you want to be with me?"

Harry's smile was shaky but it was enough to relieve Sirius greatly. They hadn't lost his pup, he was still there.

Suddenly, Daphne was excited. "Harry! Remember when we talked about compartmentalizing? That's what we need to do! I can help you!"

Harry looked uncertain but seemed to decide to agree with her. Their eyes locked again and she seemed to sigh and then slowly eased down on top of him so they ended up with their heads touching and their hands were still clinging together but they appeared to be asleep.

What the hell? What just happened? He vaguely remembered compartmentalizing as something you could do with Occlumency but was vague on exactly what it was at that moment. He became aware of his surroundings again when he heard Cyrus and Roxy murmuring to each other and after trying to get either Daphne's or Harry's attention, Sami started casting spells again.

Sirius really wanted to ask what was going on but Cyrus and Roxy didn't seem to know and Sami was concentrating and he didn't want to interrupt her. Her spells slowed down and she seemed to have to ponder what to try next before one of her spells resulted in a red cloud swirling between their heads. Sami seemed astounded by that and sat back in shock.

Sirius had been waiting too long for an answer and asked, "What is it?"

Sami slowly turned towards him and said as if she were in a trance, "They're in rapport."

"Rapport? Isn't that advanced Legilimency?"

Her face came more alive with confusion as she answered. "Yes, very advanced. Does Harry know it?"

"Not that I know of." Sirius looked to the Greengrasses for an answer.

The Greengrass parents looked as befuddled as he felt. Only Cyrus responded at first. "I have discussed it with her and we went over theory but as far as I know, that is all the exposure she's had. I was not going to offer training on it until she was older. As for Harry, I have never even discussed it with him."

He then looked at Roxanne and she responded by saying, "I never even touched on it with Harry. I discussed it briefly with Daphne once but that's it. How either of them would know how to go into rapport is beyond me."

Sirius looked at Sami as she contemplated the teens lying on the bed. "What is Rapport exactly?"

Sami seemed to respond absently as she continued to stare at the teens. "It's when two people link their minds. Some couples use it to deepen their bonds, it is rarely used in certain extreme cases to treat serious mental conditions. I'm not aware of any other uses."

Wow, that was a lot to take in. "Are we sure they can come out of it if they don't know how?"

"I'm astonished they are able to do it at all at their age. Either they are both natural Legilimens or…." Sami hesitated and her eyes took on a distant quality. "It's possible that their minds are just so well attuned that they just fell right into rapport. Could they be bonded already?" Her eyes then flicked to his and he could see that she was back in the here and now. "Either way, they should have no more difficulty getting out of rapport as they did getting into it. I had no idea someone could enter rapport that quickly, it's normally not easy."

"And the compartmentalizing that Daphne mentioned, that is Occlumency, right?"

"Yes, and it's a very good idea, I would have suggested it to Harry if he was capable of doing it." She then turned to the Greengrasses, "Does Daphne know how?"

Roxanne nodded her head as Cyrus said, "Yes. I've taught her a lot about Occlumency, including compartmentalizing."

Sirius really wished he'd paid better attention during his lessons. He knew what it sounded like but wasn't certain so he'd have to ask. "So, they are going to separate Voldemort's memories from the rest of his mind?"

Sami answered promptly. "Exactly. I studied how to separate traumatic memories until the patient can safely deal with them. In this case though, they ought to be permanently sealed off. There's no reason for Harry to have to deal with anyone else's memories, especially **his**." She had said the last word with great distaste.

Sirius felt much better, it appeared that things were under control although, as appeared to be usual for Harry, things were rather unconventional. There was only one more question that he had.

"How long will it take?"

He got the distinct impression that she wished he hadn't asked that question. "It depends on a lot of things."

He was not going to be deterred. "Such as?"

"If it is only a memory of that night, it won't take long at all."

"What if it is more?"

She blanched and Sirius' became nervous again. "What?"

She wouldn't look at him. "If it is all of his memories…. Do we know how old he might have been then?"

Sirius considered what he'd learned about Riddle/Voldemort. He guessed, "Fifties?" and when he looked at Cyrus, he nodded his agreement.

He looked at Sami and she looked extremely uncomfortable. "It depends on how well they work together, um…. It could be a very long wait."

He should have expected that. He looked at the Greengrasses as he said, "I think we need some comfortable chairs."

* * *

Robert followed his friend Cyrus eagerly as they approached Greengrass Manor. His friend had been quite serious and looked tired and haggard when they'd met at just after 9 in the morning. Thus, Robert refrained from his usual attempts at humour and followed Cyrus quietly. He'd gotten only a very brief explanation of the short-notice summons but that was fine with Robert. He counted Cyrus as a good friend and this case had certainly been interesting. Now he was about to find out the outcome the soul shard that was in Harry Potter but hopefully now gone.

He entered a bedroom to find four chairs clustered around a bed. On one side he saw a tired Roxanne with her two disgruntled daughters on one side and Lord Black and a woman he'd never met on the other.

"Robert, that is Healer Stevens with the Lord Black, you already know everyone else."

"Indeed, I do. It is a pleasure to meet you, Healer Stevens."

He shook hands with her and she looked as under slept as the rest of them but her calm demeanour reassured him that Harry Potter was well. He then turned to Harry and saw that although he was tired, he looked healthier than before and then he realized that his signature scar was completely missing.

"You are looking much better, Mr. Potter. The fact that your scar could be healed is proof that the dark magic is gone."

Harry cleared his throat and spoke softly. "Just call me Harry, Robert. I want to be sure the soul shard is truly gone, and not hiding somewhere."

As he got out the mirror, he tried to reassure the boy. "The shard isn't a wraith or a ghost, it would move on as soon as it was without a container."

"Couldn't it go into someone else?"

"Possibly, but that would be a traumatic event so unless the person were unconscious they'd be well aware that something was wrong."

Lord Black spoke up then. "Just check to reassure him, please. He's been very anxious that everyone else is unaffected."

"Certainly. For everyone who doesn't already know, this is a device that allows me to see magic and other things that normally cannot be seen. I would be able to see it no matter where it might go with this. First, let's check you, Harry."

He checked Harry thoroughly and was very pleased with the results except that there was an unusual amount of flowing going on with his magic. It might just be the stress of recent events so he didn't think much about it but he decided to measure his magic so he'd have a comparison point for the future. "You are totally clean, Harry. No soul shard, no dark magic." He smiled at Harry but only got a perfunctory attempt at a smile back, there was more going on than he knew, it appeared.

He looked to the other side of the bed and saw the elder daughter next. "Daphne, right?"

"Yes, Robert."

Her response was very flat and unemotional, she reminded him of her father. Her core was coming along nicely and well above average though not quite up to Harry's standard. "All clear. Hello, Roxanne."

"Robert." Her smile was faint and she definitely could use a nap, best to get this done quickly. He paused but tried to cover his surprise, Roxanne was as powerful as Cyrus or perhaps even a bit more, he'd have to measure to be certain but this wasn't the time for that. "All clear again. And you are Astoria, then."

The girl was still annoyed and tired and she replied only with a nod. "All clear." He shifted to look at Cyrus and was impressed by his aura and core but there was no sign of dark magic. "All clear."

He turned to see that the healer had been looking over his shoulder at the mirror. He smiled at her as she blushed slightly and stepped back. He stepped back as well to scan her more quickly and announced, "All clear."

He then scanned Lord Black and quickly realized that he could not announce an all clear. His aura was disturbed and his core was stunted but probably growing again. It appeared he would be a very powerful wizard. He frowned as he turned a few knobs to better figure out exactly what else he was seeing.

He heard the boys' worried voice. "Is something wrong?"

"It's not the soul shard, don't worry about that but there is an issue." He lowered the device to look at Lord Black. "Did you know that you were cursed?"

Lord Black only looked puzzled but the healer was shocked. "What? But…. How did I miss that?" She gave Lord Black a worried look before she turned back to him and asked. "What sort of curse?"

"A starvation curse but it's fading and probably no longer affecting him significantly. It's between two and three years old and probably wasn't applied correctly or he'd be dead. I imagine it would have looked like a typical death in Azkaban."

The healer had her wand out and started to say, "I have to get rid of…"

"Wait! Let me record the magical signature first. This way, we would have the ability to identify who did this to him."

The healer stepped back but was clearly impatient and still upset. Surprisingly, Lord Black only looked mildly perturbed. He didn't let her hurry him though and took a thorough recording of the magic. "OK, I've got it. If you ever have a suspect for who did this, I can confirm or disprove it with this recording. By the way, with my testimony, this would be allowed in a trial."

When the healer was done with her spells, she asked him to check again and he humoured her by rechecking him. "It's gone now."

Cyrus then asked, "Do you remember being cursed?"

Sirius had apparently already been thinking about it as he had his answer ready. "No. It had to be a guard though, I never had a visitor, unless you count Fudge."

Robert snorted and replied. "It would be just like him to botch a spell too. However, I've seen his magical signature, it wasn't him."

Cyrus then spoke up, "We'll have to keep that in mind for the future then."

There was an awkward silence or at least it seemed that way to Robert. He decided that he was probably done here. "Well, it was nice to see you again, Harry. I'm glad it's gone. Cyrus, just let me know if…"

"Excuse me." The hesitant voice of the boy stopped him in his tracks.

"Yes?"

"Could I speak with you?" Harry hesitated and looked around furtively then added, "Privately?"

Robert was a little nonplussed, he didn't expect that but he was certainly willing. "Certainly. I don't have to leave right away, I just thought I was done here."

The boy looked preoccupied as the others started to get ready to leave but then he turned to Lord Black and asked, "Sirius, could you stay too?"

"Of course, Harry. Anytime you need me."

Robert watched the others to pass the time. He noted that the healer seemed reluctant to leave and it seemed to be more about Lord Black than the boy. He also noticed that the eldest, Daphne, looked very reluctant to leave and had a somewhat wounded look to her. Finally, her mother had to urge her out so she could close the door as the girl was the last to leave. That was interesting, it seemed that the two men with him had significant others and he thought they were both lucky.

He looked at the boy and he suddenly seemed small as if he had shrunken in on himself. When the boy returned his look, he seemed very worried.

"You seemed fine to me, Harry. What's wrong?"

"Are… Are you sure he's gone?"

"Absolutely, there is no trace of the soul shard anywhere. It's gone and can't come back."

"I have his memories."

At first he wondered what he meant and then it hit him. The mental connection, he hadn't considered all of the possibilities that indicated. He looked at him again with new understanding, the poor boy.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You could try compartmentalizing…."

Harry was already nodding. "We did that already, Daphne and me."

"Oh, that's good then." Now he had returned back to not knowing what the problem was.

"I think I'm still a Parselmouth too." The boy then proceeded to hiss something and Robert had to take quick control of himself to not react in a way that could be considered negative. The boy had been through enough, he didn't need the appearance of any silly prejudice from him. He fixed Robert with a look and gravely said, "I got that from Voldemort so he's not truly gone. In fact, it's easier for me now, I don't need to look at a snake and I can tell when I'm speaking it."

That was interesting but he'd have to convince the boy that it wasn't a problem. "I believe I mentioned that there were mental and magical connections between you and the soul shard. I would say that your mother's protection took what was useful from the shard before it sent it on its way. I didn't measure your magic earlier so I can't say for sure but your aura and core are robust and might be bigger already. There's no dark magic in you and there is nothing wrong with being a Parselmouth…."

Robert slowed to a stop as he was hit with an epiphany. He turned to Lord Black and began to speak excitedly. "The memories! We can find out where all of the Horcruxes are! It will be so much simpler!"

He saw Lord Black pale and cut his eyes towards Harry. Oh, they probably hadn't had a chance to tell the boy yet. He looked at the boy as he eyed the two men curiously. "Horcruxes?"

His heart sank as he saw Lord Black move to pat the boy on the shoulder and murmur to him in reassurance. He felt like a real prat in that moment and tried to think of something useful to do. "Should I get someone?"

The boy spoke quickly before he could do anything. "Are you sure I'm not a danger to anyone?"

"Absolutely. You may have gotten things from Voldemort but they are yours now, to do with as wish. There is nothing and nobody but you that will decide what you will do. You are finally free of him, Harry. You are no more dangerous than any other – um – 13?" Harry nodded so he resumed. "Any other 13-year-old boy." He looked between the two and asked again, "Is there anyone I should get?"

Harry quietly said, "Cyrus or Roxanne, whoever might have time."

The boy didn't seem to realize how much they cared for him but it wasn't his place to convince him of that. "I'm sure either of them would be glad to make the time, Harry. Just let me know if there is anything more I can do." He got a nod from Lord Black and made his getaway. He found both Cyrus and the healer waiting in the hallway so his choice was easy. He looked at Cyrus and said, "He's ready for company. He was worried about being a danger, I assured him that wasn't the case."

Cyrus patted him on the shoulder as he passed him. "Thanks, Robert. You're a good friend."

"Anytime, Cyrus. Anytime."

* * *

Astoria saw that her sister was still rather distraught and she still felt left out so she followed her to her room but Daphne seemed unaware until the door didn't close when she expected it to. As she finished closing the door Daphne asked tiredly, "What do you want Astoria?"

"I was hoping you could tell me more about what is going because there are things I don't understand."

Daphne turned away and her stance was tense. "I don't understand everything myself."

"But you got to stay! They sent me to bed and I missed everything!"

She saw Daphne's shoulders move as she sighed. "You didn't miss anything good."

"Then tell me what was bad."

That earned her a glare that Daphne threw over her shoulder as she turned only partway towards her.

She had to make her sister believe her intentions were good. "I want to help, please Daph, let me help!"

Her only response was to turn away again.

"I swear I'm not trying to be annoying! I'm telling you the truth, I really want to help and he's my friend too!"

At least Daphne turned back to face her although her look was suspicious and not in the least accommodating. Then Daphne seemed to sag and threw herself on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Our parents don't want you to know for a reason."

She tried to control her frustration as she knew taking it out on her sister wouldn't win her any cooperation. "If everybody keeps sheltering me I won't know what is going on! I could do something wrong out of ignorance!"

She heard a growl of frustration from her sister so she remained silent. Any more pushing could get her thrown out and she'd still know virtually nothing.

Daphne's voice was hard and resolute. "This doesn't get out to anyone."

She barely contained her enthusiasm and quietly and firmly said, "I promise." She moved to sit on the bed a little away from her sister.

"Voldemort left something behind in Harry's scar the night he tried to kill him. His mother's protection wasn't able to get rid of it until recently and apparently succeeded last night. Not all of him got ejected though, his memories stayed."

She kept her gasp silent. She hadn't heard much of what Harry had said, he was too quiet and her mother hadn't allowed her to approach but now she understood. Voldemort's memories? But, they had to be horrible! She felt a great deal of sympathy for Harry in that moment. Gods, she couldn't imagine having to deal with something like that!

"So you helped him somehow with that rapport thing?"

"Yes. I'm still not sure how I did that though. We compartmentalized all of the memories, they won't be flying around in his head anymore. You know what that is, right?"

"Yes, Mum told me a little about it. I have no idea how to do it though."

"Father can teach you. Or Mum."

She didn't bother to answer, it wasn't important now. She asked tentatively, "So he's OK now?"

"I think so. Mum wouldn't let me stay with him though, I hope she isn't going to try to keep us apart."

Astoria was surprised to hear a sniffle from her sister and then saw that she was fighting tears. "What's wrong?"

Her sister wailed her response, which she found shocking. "He didn't want me to stay!" Daphne covered her face so she couldn't see it anymore.

Astoria was unsure what to say, she'd not thought much about being sent away, she was kind of accustomed to it by now. However, her sister had been excluded too, but why? Then she recalled that they both seemed protective of each other. "Maybe he is trying to protect you?"

Daphne sat up and looked at her in surprise. "You think so?"

"Probably." She paused and thought about how to explain. "I know he really likes you. He watches you a lot. That's what you said isn't it, that you can tell that a boy likes you if they pay attention to you?"

Daphne looked away and nodded thoughtfully to herself.

* * *

Once Cyrus agreed to wait for Harry, Roxanne felt she just had to have a moment to recover herself so she went to their private bathroom to freshen up and think. Her thoughts were still a jumbled mess and the lack of sleep certainly wasn't helping but she couldn't help but feel that she had let Lily down. She had thought that she had known fairly well what was likely to happen but never anticipated such a violent exit for the soul shard. She also certainly didn't expect that he'd have to deal with that psychopathic madman's memories but that is exactly what they now faced. She brushed away a few tears, she didn't have time for that now.

For now, she'd let her husband take the lead with Harry, they were on the same page as far as helping him and she knew he'd be there to support him now as he'd supported him during the stressful day after Harry's birthday. She stared absently at herself in the mirror and then decided her priority now would be Daphne. She had to be sure that her time with Harry helping to isolate the memories hadn't been too traumatic for her daughter. Also, she suspected that she would feel rejected by Harry asking for privacy from her along with everyone else. She still seemed to be in the early, uncertain part of her feelings for Harry where she could feel any sort of perceived rejection keenly. She also had something important to tell her daughter, news that might be hard for her to accept.


	6. Scars Make You Whole

Chapter 6 Scars Make You Whole

A/N: Here is the second chapter I promised you. A line in bold without quotation marks is something written. My reading recommendation is "Daphne Greengrass and the Importance of Intent" by Petrificus Somewhatus. Thanks for reading and especially reviewing and special thanks to my marvellous beta Shygui! Merry Chrstmas!

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. ― Kahlil Gibran

After a nap and a breakfast alone except for a very solicitous Mipsy, Harry felt at loose ends. At the end of their talk, Cyrus had assured him that they all had the day off from their studies but he doubted that meant that Sirius would be skipping his time with Sami. Since he hadn't seen Daphne yet, that left him feeling like he had nothing to do. He had some thinking to do and some frustrations to work out so he headed for the practice room and did some spell work.

He felt pretty sure that it was over, at least for now, but he still had some lingering uncertainties after having to deal with Voldemort's memories. He had even compartmentalized his memories of compartmentalizing Voldemort's memories. There had been enough disgusting flashes of events in Voldemort's life that he had decided to seal off even those glimpses. All he could remember of that part of the ordeal was that he had done those things with no details of having actually done them other than they were kept separate and that the memories that weren't his were completely unsorted. Sorting would have required more attention to the memories than he would ever want to do.

Still, there were some remnants of him feeling tainted. At the first sign of him not being himself, he'd have to run away to save those he cared for, which was everyone else here as he cared for them all in different ways. He had to admit though that right now, there was no sign of anything other than his 13-year-old self who had more questions than answers.

Then he began to think about what else he had recently learned about Voldemort and his anger came to the fore. It was bad enough that the git was so powerful and better trained and wanted him dead. That was quite enough for anyone to bear he felt. Then he had to go leaving bits of himself around, first in horrible things called Horcruxes and then in his own head! Why did fate or whatever it was like torturing him like this? When would it be enough?

When his cutting curse not only obliterated his target but left a big cut in the wall, he realized he had gotten carried away but he'd never had that much power in one of his spells before, it was totally unexpected. He quickly looked around to verify he was still alone and sheepishly tried to fix the wall with a Reparo as he'd never damaged the room before and certainly didn't want to start now. He looked at the results and it definitely looked better but there still seemed to be some residual mark left. He was wondering if another Reparo might do the trick when the door opened and he quickly abandoned his inspection of the wall so as not to call attention to it. He was surprised and pleased to see it was Daphne who had come in.

* * *

Daphne tried napping but it didn't work out too well. She may have slept briefly but what had gone on that night and what her mother had said kept going around in her mind and it was difficult to turn that off and relax. She eventually gave up and went in search of breakfast and was alone for most of it until her sister showed up. He sister was quiet yet cordial, apparently she was still grateful for their little talk before their mother had come along and accidently broken it up.

She had just started to search for Harry when Mipsy appeared and told her he was in the practice room. She was curious as to how their elf knew who she was looking for but then realized with a blush that it must be fairly obvious to anyone who lived here. She spent most of her time with Harry and there was no denying it.

She quietly made her way down to the basement and hesitated with her hand on the door to the practice room. She wasn't sure how to feel about all that she had learned but she felt obligated to tell Harry all she knew despite that fact. First, though, she needed to be sure he was alright after what they had gone through the previous night. She still hesitated due to the fact that he had wanted her to leave and despite the reassurances from both her mother and her little sister, it was hard for her to feel confident that he would want to talk to her.

She hesitantly opened the door and was surprised to see him by the wall and she was pretty sure he was looking at it until he pretended not to. His big smile and starting to move towards her reassured her until he began to pause and look puzzled. Oh, he must have noticed how tentative she was so she tried to cover it by smiling back and coming over to give him a hug, which he promptly returned. Before she could get her thoughts together, he asked her a question.

"Are you all right?"

She barely suppressed a giggle in response. "I was going to ask you that! You're the one who had Voldemort in his head, not me."

He tightened his hug and she reciprocated before he responded. "You were right there with me."

"Only to help clean up the mess. You were alone with all those… those… awful, horrible memories! It was enough to drive someone mad! Besides, I compartmentalised my memories of working with those memories. But really, how are you? Please tell me the truth."

"I wouldn't lie to you, Daphne. I did the same thing, I only remember what we did, not how we did it. It's sort of like a bad dream that I've forgotten. I know it happened but it's gone now."

He still sounded a little down to her so she decided it was time for a distraction. She pulled back and gave him a mischievous grin with her face very close to his. "You haven't given me my good morning kiss yet."

Harry asked with mock surprise, "I was supposed to give you one?"

She answered by kissing him and then decided to spice it up by adding even more tongue and try entering his mouth for the first time. For a moment, she wondered if she'd been too bold, that maybe he didn't like it but then he responded with his own tongue and things quickly escalated. She had seemed to go into a haze of want without thought and found herself doing her best to merge into him and quickly seeming to run out of oxygen. She reluctantly pulled back and there as almost a popping sound when their mouths parted. She'd had to suppress a hysterical laugh at that.

As they each panted in each other's faces she looked at his still hazy eyes and saw that he had been in the daze just like her. Suddenly, she realized that her mother might have had a good reason for that silly rule about being alone together after all. That sudden need to be so close to him was startling to her, some of those naughty dreams she'd had could become real if they weren't careful. Someday it would be good but not yet.

"Maybe we'd better take a walk and then talk." She had to regain her breath again after even that short sentence, she was really winded. He gave her a curious look so she pointed at the closed door in lieu of having to speak again so soon. She watched as he looked at the door and then her in confusion. She raised her eyebrows and waited until she saw him realize what she was referring to and his eyes flew wide open and he lost all of the pink in his cheeks.

His voice was quiet but urgent. "Right! Roxanne wouldn't like this if she caught us!"

She couldn't help snuggling into his side and whispering conspiratorially, "It might be worth it though."

His nervous laugh was enough to convince her that they really should relocate so she took his hand and led him out of the room. She was slightly relieved to see no sign of either of her parents when they got to the ground floor again. She looked back to see Harry with a still somewhat dazed grin on his face and it just made her heart melt. There was definitely going to be more kissing once they finished talking. Then she had to correct herself, there would be if Harry didn't get too upset and she had to admit she was still a little unsettled by it herself.

It was a pleasingly sunny day so she sought some shade under a tree and sat on the ground and she was slightly disappointed when he sat in front of her. It was good for talking but not so good for what she hoped they'd be doing later. If he was agreeable though, she had no doubt about getting him into a better position for that.

Suddenly, she realized that she was getting way too far ahead of herself. How was she going to start this conversation? She hadn't thought that far ahead and mentally shook her head in disappointment in herself. She had to more on top of things like this if she wanted a favourable outcome and she most definitely wanted a favourable outcome. When she decided to go with chronological approach, she looked up and saw him giving her a concerned look. This was not a great start and she caught herself starting to chew on her lower lip and forced herself to stop.

"I've… uhh… slowly become aware of something that we should talk about as it affects both of us. I first want to point out that I would have brought this up sooner if I'd allowed myself to believe it was possible sooner." She saw how confused he was and felt even more disappointed in herself.

"Please just bear with me, I want to present the evidence as I still don't know if all of this is true or not. I just feel that you should be aware of the possibility of what I am going to tell you. This started when we were getting ready to stage our re-enactment of Lord Malfoy's murder of Mr. Burley. Do you remember that Dobby called me 'mistress'?"

"Yeah, sure. He talks like that, I had to convince him that he didn't have to call me 'master' and it wasn't easy. It's why he keeps saying 'sir' a lot but I don't mind that as much."

It was clear he had no idea what it meant just as she had thought at the time. "Harry, house elves have customs just like we do so his calling me 'mistress' was most likely meaningful. It meant he considered me as either a co-owner or as umm… someone important to you."

She was going to say betrothed but chickened out at the last moment. She saw he was still puzzled as he responded, "You are important to me, you're one of my best friends." Then be blushed and added while looking down, "Well, now you're my girlfriend too, of course but not then…."

He looked as uncomfortable as she felt, this was not getting any easier but she had to persevere. "I mean a permanent relationship, like betrothed or married." His eyes practically bugged out of his head so she hurried to continue before she got too nervous herself. "At the time I thought you might have told him to obey me or that maybe you implied some sort of permanent relationship between us, so I dismissed it." She chewed her lip before stopping and forcing herself to continue, "Did you do anything like that?"

Harry was blushing so much that it was making her blush as well. He didn't look at her and only shook his head 'no' rather emphatically.

"There was another possible explanation but I dismissed it at the time. Anyway, between what my mother and Healer Stevens know about that rapport we went into, it makes the other explanation seem more likely." She swallowed nervously and decided she had to get to the point. "Harry, do you know about the marriage bond?"

His eyes met hers for a split second before looking down again abruptly and shaking his head 'no' again. He still looked spooked and he was still blushing heavily, which seemed to make her face feel hotter too. "The marriage bond is what it sounds like, it's a magical bond that forms between couples. It can happen spontaneously but it is strengthened and recognized or even initiated during a magical marriage ceremony. Do you understand?"

He didn't look up at her but she heard a mumbled question. "Are we married?"

That shocked her into sitting back and regarding him again. He was bent over so much that she couldn't see his face so she wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment. She had to correct his assumption but it stung her rather badly that he seemed to be rejecting the possibility of them being bonded. She tried not to allow her disappointment to show in her manner as she answered him.

"No, Harry. Only the marriage ceremony itself would make us married."

He remained silent and almost completely still so she was getting no more hints on how he was taking it so she didn't know what to do. This was so not the reaction that she was hoping for. She knew the news was shocking but it was more good than bad if you looked at it the right way. The problem was that at the moment she didn't know how he was looking at it.

"So what does it mean for us?" He'd been quiet for long enough that his whispered question had startled her slightly. It was a good sign overall but obviously she hadn't made one thing clear enough.

"Harry I'm not certain we have the bond, it's just likely that we do. Let me finish my point about the rapport we sort of fell into. There are only three possible explanations that we know of for us to go into rapport like we did. One, is that we are both natural Legilimens but I know I'm not one and based on our training together, I'd say that you aren't either. The second is very unlikely, that we have naturally compatible minds, it would be very unusual." She paused a moment and decided to go for a little levity. "Of course, a lot of things in your life are unusual so maybe we shouldn't rule that out."

She paused for his reaction and then he quickly glanced up at her and she got the impression of mild amusement before he looked back down again. "And the third?"

"The third is that we have a marriage bond between us, it makes us more compatible as a side effect and it is the most likely explanation. In fact, the most common use of rapport is for a married couple to strengthen their bond, my parents did that. Mother said that there's a spell she could do on us, to show whether we have a bond or not. I am reluctant to let her do that but not because I don't want it to be true, I don't want you to think that. It's just that it might put pressure on us, make us do things we might not normally do."

She paused and looked at him for his reaction and he slowly raised his head again and gave her a rather stoic look that made her heart stutter. She was starting to brace for bad news when he nodded and said, "I guess I agree but…. What would the pressure be?"

She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. He apparently still didn't realize one of the characteristics of the marriage bond. "A marriage bond is for life so we'd basically be betrothed as marrying anybody else would be repulsive to us and might have magical consequences if we attempted it."

She was trying to not hold her breath but it seemed impossible to resist. She saw he must be using Occlumency as she only caught small flashes of emotion from him. Shock was first and then he seemed pensive and lost within his own thoughts. He eventually came out of it and looked at her stoically as he said, "If we do have one, it's a good thing that it's with you then."

What? She blinked at him in confusion, struggling to wrap her mind around that statement until finally she took a deep breath to ease her tension. It sounded like a favourable response but what exactly did it mean? As if he read her thoughts, he answered with a grin.

"You're the most amazing and pretty girl I've ever met so I won't complain about being with you." Then he lost the smile and leaned towards her and spoke earnestly. "I also don't want to force you to do anything. If not verifying this makes you feel more free, then I'm all for it."

After her earlier anguish this felt like bliss to her in comparison. She felt a big smile bloom on her face as she leaned towards him. "This is for you too, you know. I don't want you to feel like you have to do something either."

He leaned closer and whispered, "What if I want to?"

Her resistance broke and she reached out to draw him into a kiss and she was convinced she had the best boyfriend ever. It was awkward at first but then she found that sitting in his lap worked much better.

* * *

Harry's head still felt like it was spinning just a bit, it had been quite a morning after such a turbulent night. Their kiss in the practice room had driven the fact that she'd seemed nervous right out of his head but that thought came back when she sat down with him outside. He'd been hoping that her intention to 'talk' was code for kissing but apparently not. It didn't bode well that she was nervous about the subject either.

When he realized that she was telling him something he should know as soon as she was aware of it that fact calmed him. One of the things that had made the previous night so disconcerting for him was that they'd known about the shard and Horcruxes and hadn't told him about them. It eased his mind a bit when they revealed they had planned to tell him this day but still their delay had stung just a bit. Daphne wasn't doing that though and it made him feel fonder of his girlfriend.

He felt a maelstrom of emotions during their talk under that tree. He was learning yet another new thing about the magical world but then it was something that would affect the rest of his life. He'd been ready to internally vent about his choices being taken away by fate yet again but then he stopped to ponder it from a different direction. How did he really feel about this and about Daphne?

His feelings about Daphne were pretty clear, she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She had taught him so much and made him feel like he could be in charge of his life and do things on his own terms, something he'd never felt before. But now she was his girlfriend as well and that just seemed to open an entirely new world to him with so many possibilities and it was a wonderful place to be. However, without her he wouldn't be in that world anymore, she was becoming something essential to how he wanted his life to be.

He wasn't sure if it would matter to him if they confirmed the bond or not but the fact that Daphne would feel better if they didn't convinced him that was the way to go. If fate was saying he'd have to marry Daphne someday, he could be OK with that (no hurry though), well, more than OK really. It was so much better than all the other mad stuff that life or fate had thrown at him that it almost felt like a reward for all of the bad things. He decided that he'd take that deal but that didn't mean he was OK with the bad stuff, just that this part of it was good – no, it was brilliant.

He still felt somewhat in a haze during lunch but he still noticed odd reactions from two people. Astoria seemed rather concerned about him and he tried to reassure her with a couple of smiles which seemed to make her a bit shy although she did return the smiles and seemed a bit reassured. The other one was Roxanne who seemed to be keeping an eye on both him and Daphne but she seemed to be pleased with what she saw so he didn't worry about it. She may have worried about his reaction to what she'd told Daphne, that's all he could think of to explain it.

Roxanne requested their presence in the sitting room and Astoria very quickly and surprisingly quietly made herself scarce, which struck him as a bit out of character for her but he wasn't complaining; especially if the discussion was about what he thought it was. Daphne sat in a chair like her mother so Harry was alone on the couch and he wondered why she hadn't joined him. He looked at Roxanne in time to see her give Daphne an enquiring look which Daphne answered with a nod. What was this unspoken conversation about?

Roxanne turned to him with a serious expression and asked, "Harry, I was wondering if you had any questions about the bond that you two might be sharing."

He stifled his reaction as best he could but decided that the bond had been covered quite enough for his taste. "No. We agreed not to confirm whether or not it exists; we're going to let things proceed as they will."

"That's fine, Harry. I just wanted to be sure you were satisfied with what Daphne could tell you."

Harry really wanted this over with, it wasn't as bad as a Dursley discussion but it was bad enough. "I'm good, thanks."

Roxanne then held up an envelope that he hadn't noticed before. "This came for you this morning. It's the reply from Remus Lupin. If you want to discuss it with Sirius or just visit him later, you only need to find me and I'll take you to see Sirius and I can participate in the discussion or not, either way is fine with me."

"Thanks, Roxanne. I'll probably take you up on that." He stared at the envelope until he noticed from his peripheral vision that she had approached Daphne and whispered something to her that made her react as Roxanne continued on to leave. Daphne's eyes flew open wide, her fingers reached up to touch her lips momentarily and then a scowl formed on her face and she turned to direct it to her mother who never saw it as she continued on and left the room. A rather disgruntled looking Daphne turned back to face him and he just had to know what that was about.

"What did she say?"

Daphne huffed but her face cleared and she looked back at him with a calm expression. "She pointed out that our lips were swollen. I should have warned you when I invited you here that it is very hard to get away with anything in this house."

"Swollen?" Harry then touched his lips too but in confusion rather than surprise or consternation.

Daphne had a slightly sour look on her face as she replied. "When a couple gets, umm, _enthusiastic_ about kissing, their lips tend to swell a little."

His first instinct was to be embarrassed but Roxanne seemed to be OK with it, she was probably just teasing her daughter so he decided not to worry too much. "I didn't know that."

A contemplative look came to Daphne's face as she muttered, "I wonder if there's a spell for that?"

It struck Harry as funny – a spell for teenagers to get away with kissing before seeing adults. What would it be, an anti-inflammation spell for the lips? He snickered briefly, which earned him a slight scowl from Daphne but it looked like more of a warning than a real display of irritation.

Then the envelope that Roxanne had left behind caught his attention and all of his mirth died. He was curious about what this stranger would write to him but he was also a bit apprehensive about what he might learn. News about his past tended to be bad news but then this was a friend of his parents and his godfather, shouldn't he be eager to meet him? Harry still felt a little torn about the whole thing but he got up and took the envelope anyway.

He distractedly meandered back to the couch as he considered the pros and cons of waiting to read the letter until he could see Sirius, tapping the letter against the fingers of his other hand. In the end, the biggest con was reading evocative news in front of several people, he was learning that he could now depend on some adults to support him but on the other hand, he'd really rather react in private first if that was going to happen.

He was beginning to open it when he felt like he was being watched and sure enough; Daphne was giving him a mostly passive look with a hint of concern. He tried to give her a convincing smile and then patted the couch beside him and she responded with a brilliant smile and by hurrying over to join him and he concluded that he'd made a good choice. He opened the letter and held it so they both could read it.

 **Dear Harry,**

 **I must admit your letter from out of the blue came as a bit of a shock after my years of unsuccessful attempts to contact you. I want to assure you, however, that it was a pleasant shock. I was completely unaware of the fact that you might be considered missing or of the fact that where you had been was not pleasant. I would like to learn more about that if you feel you can divulge such things to me either now or in the future when I have hopefully gained a measure of your trust. I am aware of the fact that for now I am just a name in a will to you so I will attempt to tell you about myself.**

 **I was a close friend of your father's and I knew your mother as well, in fact we were prefects together at Hogwarts during our fifth and sixth years. I feel obligated to confide that I am a werewolf but I assure you that except for one night per month I am harmless and hope that you will not hold it against me. I have taken great pains all of my life to isolate myself from anyone who might encounter me on that one night of the month. Your father and later even your mother referred to it as 'my furry little problem'. I have no wish to inflict this curse on anyone else the way that an infamous werewolf did to me when I was but a small child.**

 **As you may already be aware, my kind are not held in high regard within the magical world and I have had few resources at my disposal in my attempts to find you. Through most of these years I just had to hope that Albus Dumbledore's assurances to me that you were well cared for were true. Had I thought him to be less than truthful with me, I assure you that I would have helped you if I could. I am heartened to hear that you are now safe and well cared for, it is all that I and your parents could have wished for you.**

 **Your letter also held impossibly good yet devastating news about another of my friends, Sirius Black. For far too many years, I believed that he was the one that had betrayed your parents, even though it had seemed impossible to me at first. That Sirius could betray James who was all but his brother in blood was something I struggled to comprehend for the longest time.**

 **I now wish that I had held to my first impression as I now find that I have shunned and hated one of my few true friends because I allowed myself to believe what everyone else did. If I ever see my friend again, I don't know how I will ever be able to adequately apologize to him nor earn his forgiveness.**

 **I also want to inform you that we will be meeting at last this coming year as I have recently accepted the post of the professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. If my condition were generally known, I suspect that many would find it ironic that one who is classified as a dark creature would be teaching that class.**

 **If for some reason you do not feel comfortable meeting me, and I will not hold it against you if you do, then just owl me and I will treat you like any other student and not bother you.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **Remus Lupin**

Harry felt stunned and speechless. Except for the mention of Dumbledore's assurances, which angered him, the overall reaction he'd had to the letter was sympathy. Here was a man who must have faced incredible prejudice and disdain throughout his life yet had not complained about it and had even attempted to joke about it with his new job. As much as Harry had felt picked on, he now saw proof that there were some worse off than him. Then the man had offered him an out if he didn't want to associate with him but he couldn't live with himself if he did that.

He became aware of two things at once, there was a tear running down his right cheek and he was being given a strong sideways hug from his girlfriend, which he quickly endeavoured to return. Her silent support made him feel better and that was enough for now.

* * *

Latham Fredriksen grinned at him as he accepted the note. "It's nice to do business with you, Lucius."

Lucius simply kept his stoic face until the man was out of sight as he walked down the hallway chuckling. When it was safe, his grimace appeared on his face and he nearly ground his teeth together in frustration. His choices were still slipping away from him. The proceeds from his business had slowed to a trickle and would probably soon stop and he found himself unable to muster a response to stop that. Even his damned solicitor was less receptive to doing his bidding, someone had warned him off, probably by that damned coalition he was already aware of.

Now his only regular outlet for passing information had just doubled his price, again. He had no choice but to comply but he swore to himself that if he ever found a way to get a decent enforcer, he would make certain that putting Fredriksen in his place would be very high on his to-do list. If he'd had a choice, he would have discarded Fredriksen long ago. The man had bungled a simple assignment about three years ago but he was the only bribable person he knew of here in Azkaban.

He didn't want all of the men betraying him dead as he could not replace them now but one or two dying would probably put the rest back in line. He was quite willing to take decisive steps to put them back in line but who could do that? He might have to trust Crabbe or Goyle after all, despite the risk. He'd be forced to divulge dangerous secrets to put an enforcer on their trail and for all he knew, they may have relocated by now. The advantage of Crabbe or Goyle was they'd be too stupid to recognize an opportunity to betray him but then they are probably also too stupid to succeed. His damned wife had made it clear, with subtext, that she would not do anything illegal to help him. Putting that bitch back in her place was high on his list too.

He might be forced to do something rash to regain control if he couldn't reverse his declining influence soon. Better to do something than to wait too long and be able to do nothing at all. That time was not yet though. Perhaps his disappointment of a son would come up with something, the boy at least had been receptive to what he'd told him to do. Thus it wasn't time to get desperate yet but someday he might find himself in just that situation.

* * *

The alert they had just added to keep track of Sami's comings and goings let Roxanne know that the healer had left. She suspected that Harry would want to see Sirius so she went in search of him and found him playing exploding snap with both her daughters. They had a rather explosive finale to their game that had all three of them laughing and she wasn't even sure they cared who had won. Then Daphne and Harry turned simultaneously to look at her curiously although she could also see that her daughter was still not happy about her prior teasing.

"Sami left, we could go see Sirius if you wish."

Astoria declined and said goodbye to all of them as Harry looked contemplative and Daphne watched for his reaction with curiosity. Harry turned back to her and said, "I think all three of us should talk to Sirius about the letter." She saw a small smile and nod of agreement from her daughter and she felt a little satisfaction of her own to be included. She wanted to be there for Harry but she didn't want to force her company on him and intrude either. As a matter of fact, she needed a private conversation with Sirius herself.

Roxanne knocked on the outside door and eventually it opened to show a more composed version of Sirius that when she last saw him. "Good afternoon, Sirius. Harry got the response from Remus and he'd like to talk about it with us."

She saw a look of mixed surprise and anticipation on his face as he responded, "Good afternoon, Roxy." He then turned to the teens still lurking behind her with a smirk and said, "And good afternoon to the two lovebirds."

She saw a hint of embarrassment from both of them but Harry managed to fire back, "You're just jealous, Padfoot."

Sirius barked out a laugh before conceding with a smile, "I've had a few pretty birds on my arm but I have to admit you do have excellent taste… and luck."

If the last part was supposed to be a dig at Harry, it missed the mark as his smile grew and he responded, "I know I'm lucky but I still have to be a good boyfriend to keep her."

That increased Daphne's smile and she cuddled into his side which made him look at her in contentment. Roxanne exchanged an amused look with Sirius before she asked, "Inside or out?"

He looked up at the now overcast sky but rain didn't seem imminent. "Let's get some fresh air while we can."

They settled in the chairs near his abode and the adults looked at Harry with anticipation. Harry suddenly got up and offered the letter to Sirius. "Sorry, I forgot that you haven't read it." He looked at Roxanne and said, "You should too."

She got up and said, "I'll read over his shoulder to save time."

They both read the letter and given her proximity, she could tell that Sirius was having a generally sad reaction to the letter. It plucked at her heart strings too, she'd known that he wouldn't have had an easy life after Hogwarts but it sounded rather more bleak than she had imagined. She was contemplating what their options might be as she headed back to her chair.

She heard Sirius mutter, "same old Moony" but she wasn't sure that the remark was meant for them or not. She looked at Harry and he was watching Sirius with a very sympathetic look and she certainly couldn't fault his compassion. She saw Sirius look up at Harry again in her peripheral vision and Harry took that as his cue to speak up again.

"What do you think we should do?"

Sirius sighed and pushed his hair back distractedly as he looked at the ground and appeared to think. "We need to write back to him but we really shouldn't tell him where we are." He then looked back up at Harry and added, "We should write separately but admit we are together. I'd really like to meet him but it shouldn't be here. I don't know all of the properties that may be available to me as the Lord Black and the only one I know of won't do. It was a dark and awful place and now it's been vacant for years and the elf may have died by now with no master around."

Harry offered, "You could call him and see if he comes."

Sirius looked at Roxanne with a question on his face. "We have house elf wards, it's best to do that when Cyrus is here and we'd best have both house elves ready to deal with him if he's mad. It may even be best to do that outside our wards, I'm not sure."

She paused as she heard a light slap and saw that Harry had face-palmed. "What's wrong Harry?"

He gave her a sheepish look and admitted, "I forgot all about that, I shouldn't have suggested it like that."

She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's still new to you, Harry. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Harry didn't look like he wanted to let himself off so easily. "I have to do better than that. Well, at least someday I do." Then Daphne whispered something to him and he turned to give her a smile. She couldn't tell if she had said something to distract him or to reassure him but either way it had seemed to work.

She turned back to Sirius to see him gazing at the couple with a big smile. He seemed to come back to the moment when he noticed her watching him so he asked, "Is there some neutral location you can think of to try calling the elf or meeting Remus?"

"We have several commercial properties that would be private." There were also safe houses but she didn't dare mention them now. "It wouldn't matter for the elf but should we keep the Greengrass connection from Remus?"

That made Sirius think hard as he considered her question. Grudgingly he said, "At first, we probably should. He's been in contact with Dumbledore and will be working for him to boot, Remus can be discreet but I'd like to sound him out on his loyalties before we reveal too much."

"Then I have just the thing. We have a property that is vacant right now and it isn't under our name. It would be hard for anyone to tie it to us."

"That sounds like just the thing. I'll ask him about meeting and if he says yes, we can arrange it then."

Roxanne nodded and affirmed, "That sounds good."

Sirius retuned the letter to Harry and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Harry shook his head and responded, "I didn't have anything."

Sirius nodded. "In that case, we both have letters to work on."

Roxanne was amused to see Daphne pull on Harry's hand to get his attention and whisper to him. He smiled and nodded back and sheepishly waved goodbye before Daphne waved and led him off. They sat there and watched them leave until they were well out of earshot.

"Does he know about the marriage bond?"

She looked back at Sirius' earnest expression and tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Yes but like Daphne, he doesn't want to acknowledge that it exists yet. I don't want to pressure them either but I think it's rather obvious that they have one. I can't believe they have one at their age. I was 17 when mine started."

"I was pretty sure Marlene and I had one started towards the end. Now I'll never know for sure."

She regarded him carefully but he seemed more wistful than sad. Perhaps she didn't need to worry about him so much. She decided to serve up a distraction.

"So, you and Sami?"

She nearly laughed as he startled in his chair and gave her a wide-eyed look. "What? No! Why…?"

She smirked at him and shook her head. "Really, Sirius. You wouldn't have made it in the snake pit, you're lucky you were sorted into Gryffindor. You're way too easy to startle and you're too easy to read."

Sirius gave her an unconvincing glare. "She took her nap in a separate room. Nothing happened."

"I never said anything did." She lifted her eyebrow as she continued to smirk at him.

He must have realized that she was playing him and he mock growled at her. "Do we really have to relive our Hogwarts days?"

"I can have mercy on you if it's too much for you, Sirius." Her smirk grew even bigger.

Sirius muttered in mock anger, "Bloody Slytherins."

She couldn't help but laugh as Sirius pretended to grumble. When she calmed down, he spoke up again. "Was there anything serious you wanted to discuss?"

She gave him an assessing look and asked, "Is that a pun?"

He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands before giving her a long-suffering look. "Really, Roxy?"

She decided that she'd pushed him as far as she dared. "Sorry. I do actually have something to discuss, it's about Harry. You were higher up on the custody list than we were so I wonder if we have to work something out between us."

"Oh. I hadn't thought much about that but for now it's not an issue at all. I still have to get my head on straight first, Sami has made that clear enough. I also don't have a decent place to meet someone much less to live there. We're a long way before that could become an issue. However, there is one thing to consider that makes it unlikely I'll ever take full custody."

He stopped and regarded her seriously but she wasn't sure what his point was. "And what is that?"

Even though he suppressed his smile, she could tell he was enjoying this. "You have one thing here that I can't possibly replace."

She frowned in genuine confusion but played it up to lighten his mood but eventually she had to prompt him since he was enjoying making her wait. "And that is…?"

Sirius responded a chuckle and a smirk, "Daphne."

Oh, she should have seen that coming. "Right, that is an issue." She looked at him appraisingly, "Are you OK with that?"

He gave her a rueful smile. "Doesn't matter whether I'm OK with it or not, I don't see Harry ever wanting to be separated from her."

She didn't like that answer, she wanted a more amicable solution. "They won't be able to spend as much time together in Hogwarts so it's not like they can always be together. There's too much trouble between the Gryffindors and Slytherins for them to openly associate."

"Still that bad? I had hoped that maybe it had calmed down after the war was over."

"Maybe not quite as bad as when we were there, at least Riddle isn't active now." She grimaced before she continued, "Bad enough for them to be very discreet though. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it wasn't perpetuated by that git they have as the Slytherin head of house."

Sirius frowned as he looked at her intently. "And who is that?"

"Severus Snape."

Sirius nearly jumped in surprise. "Snivellus!? That bloody headmaster must really be senile to put that wanker in a position of power like that!"

"I agree, I don't like him any more than you do, Sirius. He seems to be physically incapable of letting go of a grudge. It's bad enough he's the potions professor but he's in charge of Daphne and probably Astoria as well this year. Cyrus is the chairman of the board of governors now, we will keep an eye on things and apply pressure if it is needed."

Sirius pondered that and then sighed and his voice was resigned. "Things being that bad in Hogwarts gives them even more reason for them to be together here in the summer then."

She had to concede that point. "You're welcome here."

He gave her a genuine smile. "I may have to accept your hospitality for now but eventually, once we clear my name I will have to go out there and be Lord Black. I'll have to be on my own and forge my own path and hopefully create a good reputation for my family. However, I expect that we will be closely aligned, perhaps even formalize an alliance. We can both have roles to play in Harry's life."

He didn't seem sad but she wanted to reassure him anyway. "You'll always be his godfather."

Sirius gave her a steady gaze and a small smile. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Things are looking up for me now and I know that Harry wants me around and I'm fine with that. Too bad you're taken, otherwise I'd try to steal you from Cyrus."

She smirked at him. "Even you aren't that smooth, Sirius."

Sirius barked out a laugh and stood up. "I think I'll take a walk, healer's orders. You might want to keep an eye on those two, they look pretty cosy."

Was he trying to distract her or was he (no pun intended) serious? She lifted an eyebrow. "Since when are you advocating proper behaviour?"

"Ok, you caught me. I was trying to distract you so Astoria is free to get into mischief."

She rolled her eyes and concluded it was a distraction to get her away from teasing about Sami. "Same old Sirius. I don't want to be the overbearing mother but I don't want them to go too far too soon either. This bond can affect their behaviour, accelerate their relationship."

All levity left his face. "I didn't consider that, you have a point. I may be a Marauder but even I know there are limits, lines that shouldn't be crossed yet. Should I have a talk with Harry?"

She gave him a grateful smile. "That's probably a good idea but he's not the one I'm worried about being the instigator."

Sirius gave her a surprised look. "Wow, Harry really is a lucky bugger."

She snorted as she got up to leave and she gave a sarcastic response. "You're such a big help." Sirius barked out a laugh as he began his walk. She briefly considered a parting shot about Sami but stuck to her original decision to drop it for now; she shook her head at him as she watched him leave and then she slowly turned and walked back towards the house.

* * *

Roxanne entered the practice room with Harry and Daphne trailing behind, while Astoria had been more interested in her reading and declined. Strangely, Harry had displayed a trace of reluctance in contrast to his normal enthusiasm for magical practice. She resolved to watch for a reason for that reaction.

She turned to her two charges and asked, "Did Professor Flitwick ever cover Salvio Hexia with you two?

To her satisfaction, it was Harry who answered as was customary for him in this situation. "He did but he only brought up the theory so we'd be aware of it. He said we'd work on it in the future."

"I agree in principal as it requires a lot of speed, accuracy and concentration and a fair amount of power. I myself was not taught it until my fifth year and if you two were ordinary third years, I wouldn't cover it either. However, neither of you are ordinary…." She paused to give them a significant look and added, "Don't let that go to your heads and although you may not perfect it yet, you can't start that process if you haven't been taught it. Since he discussed theory, I won't bother doing that, we'll move straight on to the practical."

She readied her wand and spoke to Harry. "Harry, try to hit me with a stinging hex and I'll show you how it works."

Harry looked a little uncertain and glanced at Daphne who was watching him with a slight smile. He then turned back to her and reluctantly muttered the spell and jabbed his wand at her. It was a weak attempt and although it wasn't common for him to aim at her, it was hardly the first time he had and so she couldn't understand his discomfort. She easily flicked the spell to the side where it hit the wall and left no trace of its existence.

"As you can see, it's as effective as the Protego shield but I don't have to absorb the spell, I can redirect it. Unlike Protego, it can redirect an unforgivable curse but the catch is you must intercept it precisely and use at least as much power as the caster used or it won't work and you'll still have an unforgivable coming at you. Unlike Protego this spell has offensive possibilities, did he cover those?"

Harry nodded before adding, "He said that he and a duelling opponent volleyed a spell between them three times before letting it go."

"Good. I also want to point out that since speed is important, even muttering the spell is too slow, to be truly effective you must do it instantly and silently, just as I did. You can control the angle of the spell by twisting your wand clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on whether you are directing it right or left or not it all if you concentrate on reflecting it straight back at your opponent. Any questions?"

They both shook their heads no so she continued. "The catch with this spell is that it has little or no colour so it is hard to practice. It's good though in real usage as your opponent won't know what you are doing until you've done it. For now, also concentrate on making it visible so you can work with it better. Pick a target and try to project it halfway to that target. You can start."

They both muttered the spells toward a target but given the nature of the spell, it wasn't easy to see any results to know if they were succeeding or not. Eventually, she'd see an occasional flicker of light from either of them and as usual, Harry seemed to make quicker progress on making the spell silent but her daughter wasn't far behind. After the time she allotted, she saw that neither of them were fast enough to truly deflect a spell without warning so she'd give them that while testing them.

"Ok, that's enough you two. It's time to test what you've learned. Daphne, you'll be first. Stand right there and Harry you stand to her left. Daphne try to deflect to your right, which would be a clockwise twist."

Daphne nodded with a determined look and readied her wand. Roxanne continued, "For this test, I will be using a colour spell to change your robes to pink." She suppressed a grin as Daphne gave a hint of a frown because unlike some girls, she was not fond of pink. "I will say go then hesitate before casting. I will be aiming for the middle of your chest. Are you ready?"

Daphne gave a firm nod so she said "go" and after a momentary hesitation as Daphne started to cast, she then cast her spell. She saw a flicker of something that was probably Daphne's attempt but it failed and her robes turned pink, much to her consternation. They both heard a quiet snicker and when they both looked at Harry, he tried to look like he hadn't done anything. He still earned a glare from his girlfriend despite his attempt at acting and he began to look sheepish.

Roxanne cancelled her spell and the second time was like the first. Roxanne reminded her about focus and Daphne still looked determined. The third attempt was better but it was deflected up into the ceiling where part of it turned pink. Roxanne stared at it momentarily before cancelling the spell and looking at her daughter.

"I didn't cover deflecting up. Did you do that on purpose?"

She could tell from her daughter's pink cheeks what the answer was before she said, "No."

"That's OK, it's still progress and we'll take it. Let's try this a couple more times before I test Harry." She saw her daughter give Harry a smirking look and it appeared she was anticipating a little retribution while Harry looked like he wasn't looking forward to it. They ended with a miss by Daphne and a partial deflection that barely hit Daphne's right arm.

"Alright Daphne, you seem to have the gist of it, just keep practicing on your own. OK, Harry you are up and Daphne, stay on Harry's left while he deflects right. Are you ready, Harry?"

Harry nodded but his demeanour indicated the opposite and she wondered what was going on with Harry. He had applied himself during his self-practice and shown progress so why was he so unconfident? Predictably, his first try was a total failure and she hadn't seen any indication of his spell. His robes weren't the only thing that was pink as they heard Daphne's quiet snicker. He failed three more times with no signs of improvement despite Daphne's now quiet concern and Roxanne's tips.

She asked him what was wrong but his answer of 'nothing' wasn't very convincing. She tried to keep a frown from forming on her face as she didn't want to discourage him but her concern was growing. What she was doing wasn't working so she decided to up the ante and see what happened. "You don't seem to be trying, Harry. I'm going to switch to the stinging hex and unlike you, it will be full power. I will aim at your right arm so you won't have to deflect much for a miss. Are you ready?"

She finally saw his spell and it had seemed to be well placed but it did nothing and Harry had to dodge her spell, which he did successfully.

"Are you sure you're putting enough power into it, Harry?"

Again, his nod was unconvincing so this was becoming worrisome but she wasn't sure what to do about it. If this continued, she'd have to ask Daphne what she knew. They tried again and his spell was more definite but he missed and was a little slow dodging and he hissed in reaction.

"Do you need me to check your arm, Harry?" He gave an emphatic shake of his head so she only did an Episkey from where she was and it seemed to make him feel better. "Come on, Harry. I know you can do better. Put some real power and focus into it this time."

He finally looked determined so she hoped for the best. He successfully blocked it to the right with a very solid-seeming spell but there was a whoomp sound and she felt vibrations through the floor. She turned to see the wall to Harry's right and was astonished to see that there was a partial hole in it with some cracks as well. The room was totally quiet as she tried to comprehend what had happened.

Her voice sounded tentative to her when she asked, "Are you sure that was Salvio Hexia?"

She looked towards Harry and saw he looked very spooked and pale. He answered in a very quiet voice, "Yes, I'm sure."

She looked at the wall again and added, "That spell isn't supposed to affect objects, only other spells. It must have been vastly over-powered to…." A possible explanation for his behaviour finally came to her, was he having issues controlling his magical power? He had recently gone through the traumatic events with his scar, could this be a side effect?

She quietly asked, "Has this happened before, Harry?"

Harry looked very sheepish and she was certain she had her answer. He quietly went over to another wall and pointed out a scar in the wall that she hadn't noticed before. She asked, "A cutting spell?"

Harry cleared his throat and replied, "Yes. I destroyed the target and left a big gouge in the wall too. I used Reparo on it to make it better."

She traced the line in the wall with her fingers as she contemplated this. She'd have to talk to her husband about this, this didn't seem like something they should try to handle by themselves. However, repairing the room might be easy as he should have enough power to undo what he did.

She stepped back and gestured to the wall. "OK Harry, show me what you can do with Reparo." She then noticed Daphne standing beyond Harry in her field of view; she looked completely gobsmacked. After he did the spell she stepped up to the wall again and found it good as new, there was no trace of the former damage.

She looked at him and then pointed to the freshly damaged wall. "Now for the real test, see what you can do with that wall."

She saw him ready himself and he seemed to concentrate fully as he sent a powerful looking Reparo at the wall. Now it was her turn to be gobsmacked as she walked up to the unmarked wall to find that even the paint looked new. The area around the damage was lighter than the rest of it.

She was distracted for a moment before she turned to look at Harry and said, "We'll check into this, Harry." At his worried look increased, she added, "Don't worry, you are becoming a powerful wizard and you'll just have to adjust to this new facet of your magical powers." She saw her daughter looking at Harry with respect and a little awe, he had made quite the impression on his girlfriend.


	7. Friends and Family

Chapter 7 Friends and Family

A/N: There is a playful reference to Shygui's "A Fateful Walk" in this chapter, I wonder if you can find it. Thanks to everyone reading and especially reviewing and as always, special thanks to my great beta Shygui.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. – Lao Tzu

The incident in the training room became quite the topic of discussion at dinner. Although the two men telling him how impressed they were made him feel good in a way, he felt that they were missing the point that his lack of control was _dangerous_. He didn't bring that up again though as Daphne had made it clear he wasn't thinking of this in the right way, which struck him as odd as she'd be the one most likely to be hurt if it happened again. What if he'd accidently blocked left instead of right? She could have been hit!

His mood didn't improve even when Robert showed up again. He liked how he knew so much about magic and his mirror was amazing but he didn't see how he could help in this case. He listened as they explained what had happened and he tried to hide his mood as he saw Daphne watching him. He didn't want to get called out for 'not looking at it the right way' again.

It wasn't until Robert had his mirror out and was showing them something, all he caught was something about 'flowing' that he took a more active interest in what was going on. Why was he showing everybody else and not informing him? Wasn't this his problem? Shouldn't he be telling him if there's a way to fix this?

Finally, the man came over to talk to Harry, it was about time in Harry's opinion. "Harry, are you aware of what determines how much magic you can do until you are exhausted and what determines how much magic you can put into an individual spell?"

Those were good questions and if it had come up in Hogwarts, he hadn't been paying attention. He had to stifle some embarrassment as he realized that he might have missed something like that in first year as they seemed like fundamental questions that he should have the answer to. He'd been a bit lost at times in his first year and wasn't applying himself like he should have been; it was time to admit he was clueless.

"Sorry, I don't know."

Robert looked concerned. "Don't they cover that in Hogwarts?" He turned to Daphne, "Do you know?"

She nodded and said, "Yes, mother taught me that."

Robert frowned, "They didn't cover this at Hogwarts?"

Daphne shook her head. "Not so far."

That made Harry feel a little better but he still felt that they were questions he should have thought of and asked so he waited patiently to be educated.

Robert harrumphed and muttered something about shoddy standards and then began to explain to Harry. "A lot of people think it is the size of your magical core that determines the amount of magic you can put into a spell but there is very little correlation there. The size of your core is more about magical stamina and that Is what can grow as you practice your magic. What determines how much magic you can put into an individual spell is your will or intent to some extent but even more important is how well you can make your magic flow."

"I took a reading on your core and although there is a slight increase, which is rather impressive by the way, it couldn't explain what happened today. What I did notice the last time I was here was that there was an unusually strong flow in your magic but given the recent traumatic event, I didn't think much of it. However, that flow still exists now so since it changed about the time you had the event with your scar, I think it may be that the shard was interfering with the natural flow of your magic. Now, that power is more readily available to you and the effort you put in before to cast a spell can now result in an overpowered spell. You must become accustomed to the new natural flow in your magic. You've already done this in your first two years, now you have to do it again but don't worry, now that you know the basics already, determining the proper amount of effort will come easier to you."

Robert gave him an encouraging smile and finished with, "In other words, Harry, if you want to regain your control, you must practice."

Harry felt great relief, having it explained like this made it seem manageable whereas before he'd been completely stumped on how he could prevent future magical accidents. Harry nodded, that made complete sense and the sooner he started, the better. "Thank you, Robert. I'll start on that right away."

He stopped in his tracks when he heard Roxanne speak. "You can start tomorrow, after your class, Harry. It's late and you only have time for a short walk before it is time to head to bed."

She gave him a determined look so he backed down immediately. Having responsible people looking after him finally had a bad side as they would say no as well as yes. However, given their obvious care for him, he couldn't deny that they had his best interests at heart so he wouldn't give them trouble. He was just turning to look at Daphne to see if she wanted to go for a walk when they were interrupted by Robert.

"Actually, before you two go anywhere, I'd like to take a quick look at the two of you with my mirror. Indulge me for a moment and I think I may have more to tell you." He looked to Daphne and said, "Please stand next to Harry for a moment."

She quickly obliged and Harry had to stifle a little embarrassment when she stood quite close to him, they were almost touching, and in front of all the adults too! Robert looked at them through his contraption and showed a curious Cyrus something in the mirror before he remarked to all, "As I suspected, these two have been spending enough time together that this new flow to Harry's magic is affecting Daphne's as well. It appears that the changes will be more gradual in you, Daphne, but you should be aware that you may have to pull back a bit on your own magical effort. Be particularly careful with new spells."

He lowered his mirror and smiled as he asked, "Any questions?"

Harry shook his head no and saw Daphne do the same. Roxanne said, "Off you go then." Fortunately, she waited until they had shut the door and were on their way outside before she took his hand. Speaking of flowing, he was quite sure there was an increased flow of blood to his face at that moment.

* * *

Once the door was closed, Cyrus sent a spell at the door and asked, "Well?"

"They definitely have a bond, it was obvious when they stood together. You could see it for yourself where I pointed it out. I was serious about her magical flow, she's going to have more power available to her but it isn't simple proximity as I implied, it's due to their bond. They will naturally tend to synchronize and although she was bound to be a powerful witch based on her parents, she may reach even greater heights due to their bond. Harry Potter will one day be a very powerful wizard, I'm talking about Dumbledore and Riddle levels of power. 'Mark him as his equal' indeed. Riddle has no idea the enemy he has helped create."

Robert looked at Sirius, who appeared to be lost in thought. "Did you have any questions, Lord Black?"

Sirius came back to the present and smirked before saying, "That's Sirius to you, Robert. You've given me a lot to think about and I couldn't be prouder of my godson, the son of Lily and James was bound to be special and that is coming true."

Robert nodded and responded, "I never met them but based on what I have heard, they must have been an amazing couple. We've lost too much already to that madman's delusions of grandeur. Unfortunately, the Horcrux hunt is at a standstill. We've combed Little Hangleton and found nothing more of interest and we have no new leads. Someday, we might need to speak to Harry about those memories."

Roxanne gave him such a hard look that he had to suppress a nervous swallow and the look from Sirius wasn't exactly encouraging. Although Cyrus was more stoic, he didn't seem pleased by the suggestion either. He decided to leave before he wore out his welcome. "Was there anything else?"

Cyrus spoke up, "No, that was all. Thanks again for your help but let's keep the memory thing for a last resort shall we. Harry and Daphne went through hell together to put those memories away, I'd hate to ask them to go through that again."

"I agree completely, Cyrus. I'm just saying that someday, it might be our only hope." He got disgruntled silence from the three adults so he took his leave. "You know how to get in touch if something else comes up, Cyrus. I'm always glad to help."

"Thanks again, Robert." He shook Cyrus's hand and departed after appreciative nods from Roxanne and Sirius. Strange and powerful events were coming and he couldn't help but feel that history was in the making. It was just very disturbing that a 13 year old boy, and perhaps a girl as well, had roles to play in what was coming. He just hoped that Harry and the Greengrasses would come through it alive.

* * *

Daphne was torn as she really wanted to spend some time with Tracey but she also was reluctant to be separated from Harry even it was just overnight. They had decided not to confide Harry's whereabouts so he couldn't come and he wouldn't be able to participate in the sleepover part anyway, at least not in the same room. She turned to face her sister and Harry as she waved a last goodbye from the Apparition point with her mother who was about to side-along Apparate her to the Davis home. Her smile grew as she saw Harry giving her his cute lopsided grin that indicated that he was trying to appear happier than he really was so he felt it too. However, dragging this out wouldn't make it easier so she grabbed her mother's arm and they disappeared with a crack.

They were quickly greeted by Mrs. Davis but Tracey must have been waiting too as she quickly appeared and practically dragged her off although she didn't put up any resistance as she just laughed at her friend. Tracey shut the door, turned to her and demanded, "Tell me everything you couldn't tell via owl post."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, held out her overnight bag and asked, "Can't I at least put this down first?"

Tracey promptly grabbed her bag and threw it towards her bed before looking at her and saying, "Spill."

Daphne huffed out a laugh and then took out her wand and began applying a privacy charm and after a brief scowl, Tracey joined her so they'd finish sooner. When they completed that task, Tracey turned to her imploringly, "Please?"

Daphne was tempted to drag things out just to tease her friend but decided it wouldn't be worth the grief she'd get. She smirked and announced, "I have a boyfriend."

She winced and stepped back at the squeal that Tracey let out and she was tempted to tease her about it but she'd had to suppress a squeal of her own that night when she'd gotten back to her room after their first kiss. She'd let this one go but just this once.

Once again, Tracey dragged her somewhere but this was just to her bed as Tracey made herself comfortable, urged Daphne to sit beside her and then said, "Tell me everything."

She couldn't help having a goofy grin on her face and just went with it. "We had our first kiss during one of our evening walks. He knew I was distracted about something and wouldn't let it go. I finally had to admit I was thinking about my first kiss and he seemed to act like he thought I wanted to kiss someone else and he didn't seem to like that idea. I took a chance and well, he kissed me back."

Tracey let out a big sigh with a dreamy smile of her own before prodding her again. "So, how was it? Is he a good kisser?"

She had to stifle a laugh as she nodded first and then added, "It was a little awkward at first but we seem to like the same things."

Tracey leaned forward eagerly. "Like a lot of tongue?"

She couldn't believe what came out of her mouth. "Tracey!"

Tracey started to bounce on the bed. "I knew it! How long have you two been tongue wrestling?"

Daphne threw herself back on the bed and groaned before asking, "Can't we have a normal conversation without you making things awkward?"

"Come on, Daphne! I don't have a boyfriend so I need to get my experience through you!"

She had to put a stop to this so she sat up to glare at her friend. "That's your own fault! Tell Neville that you would like to go out with him!"

She felt a little bad when Tracey's face fell and she in turn threw herself back on the bed. She muttered, "It's not as easy for me and you know it."

She gathered her thoughts on how to encourage her friend. "Nobody in Slytherin has any idea that Harry and I are together. I'm sure that Neville can be discreet, he would understand the consequences."

Tracey was still staring up aimlessly and her voice was sad. "What are we going to do on Hogsmeade weekends? Hide in some unused classroom?"

Daphne had no answer to that, she had tried to avoid thinking the same thing about her and Harry. "If we have to. I think Harry is worth it so do you think Neville would be worth it?"

"Probably."

Tracey's voice had no more life to it than it did before, she waited in case Tracey had more to say as Daphne was out of ideas. She perked up when Tracey spoke again.

"So the things you couldn't send by post was all about Harry?"

She was glad that she had gotten clearance from her father to tell the other news if she trusted Tracey to keep the secret. "Some of it but there is bigger news and this cannot get out to anybody or there will be big trouble." Daphne watched for a reaction, hoping that she'd get a big one and a serious enough one to let her continue. She was rewarded when that got Tracey's attention as she sat up and looked at her curiously.

She stifled a smirk as she anticipated a big distraction for Tracey. "Sirius Black is staying with us too."

"WHAT?!"

Daphne was very glad that they'd put up privacy charms but she wondered if her hearing would survive this visit with her friend.

* * *

Harry's hand fell from his farewell wave as Daphne disappeared with her mother. He'd be leaving soon for a visit to Longbottom Manor so that would be a good distraction but he was missing her already. He'd have to keep himself from brooding and he was pondering how best to distract himself when Astoria began speaking to him.

"You're going to miss her, aren't you?"

He looked over at her and saw only curiosity so he would give an honest answer. "Yes but it's not so bad as I know we'll see each other again sometime tomorrow."

Astoria nodded with a distracted look on her face and then spoke up again. "How many of the boys in your year are ready for dating?"

Harry certainly hadn't seen that question coming and tried to gather his thoughts to give an answer that would at least not sound clueless. First, he thought about the two boys he knew best and quickly concluded that Ron was not ready and he very much doubted that Neville was. He was gaining confidence but still, he seemed to not be up for dating yet. Dean? Maybe. Seamus? His smile reappeared as he considered that Seamus certainly thought he was ready but he'd pity the girl who had his attention. As for boys in other houses, he had no idea.

"Less than half is my guess. And if a Gryffindor named Seamus Finnegan ever approaches you, tell him no."

Astoria grinned shyly. "He's a real git?"

He didn't want to be too harsh but he also wanted to warn her. "Not on purpose but he is way too confident. He also likes to talk about what he wants to do with girls. I don't think he'd treat a girlfriend with respect, not unless she forced him to."

Astoria rolled her eyes and responded firmly. "He's a git then."

Harry chuckled and then decided to agree. "Yeah, I guess he is. He can be funny though."

"If he ever talks about me, let me know and I'll teach him a lesson."

He tried to minimize his grin as he looked at her appraisingly. He knew she was prone to overconfidence but she was also way ahead of where'd he'd been at her age. He pitied anyone who considered her a helpless firstie. "I'd like to see that."

She smirked at him briefly before adopting a more serious expression and asking, "Anyone else I should watch out for?"

Harry pondered that but no other names came to mind but then a slightly different situation occurred to him. "I would suggest that you not accept sweets from the Weasley twins. They love pranks."

"Oh! Don't worry, Daphne already warned me about them! They're a real hazard for Slytherins, they like to target us."

Harry felt a little defensive as he didn't consider them bullies. "They mostly target the bullies, they don't target people who mind their own business."

Astoria appeared to consider that. "They're really not bullies?"

"No. They just like to have fun and they don't like bullies any more than we do."

Astoria didn't look fully convinced. "OK but I still plan to avoid them."

Harry laughed. "That's probably a good plan. They have always been nice to me but it might be best to not draw their attention at all."

She looked at him seriously again. "I also want you to know I'm mostly teasing about the hugging and things like that. It's more to mess with my sister than you and I just wanted to be sure we're OK."

Harry let out another chuckle and smiled at her before answering. "I know and I sort of enjoy it. Just don't push Daphne too far, I don't like it when there's trouble."

Astoria pretended to shudder then replied, "I don't like being in trouble either, it just isn't worth it. Besides, I really do love my sister and I don't want to hurt her."

That made Harry feel thoughtful and he decided to share some of his feelings. "I kind of wondered what it would be like to have siblings, I watched the Weasleys and thought about it but being here has been different. I like it here, I've never felt at home as much as I have here. I can imagine what it might be like to have a little sister." He stared at her for the last part and she smiled back at him.

"I've never had a brother but if he was like you, it wouldn't be so bad. So, do you want a sisterly hug? I promise, no tricks."

She seemed earnest so he bent over a little and they hugged briefly. She looked up at him when they were done and said, "I guess you're my unofficial big brother now."

Harry felt a little bashful but nodded and smiled.

She hesitated then said, "Have fun with Neville."

"I plan to. What are you going to do?"

"I have some books to read, maybe I'll read one about you."

Harry blinked in surprise. "You have those?"

"Yes, I have the full set. I got most of them from Daphne two or three years ago, I think she got tired of me borrowing them."

Harry couldn't believe it. "Daphne had all of the Harry Potter books?"

Astoria looked intrigued. "You didn't know?" Then she got an impish look on her face. "You have to bring that up with her, I bet she'll get a huge blush."

Harry wasn't quite as enthusiastic. "I don't want to get in trouble with my girlfriend."

Astoria looked gleeful. "Hey! That is great teasing material! You can't let that slip by!"

Harry considered it for a few seconds. "I'll think about it."

Her look became more earnest before she spoke again. "If you want to be a good big brother, you might put in a good word for me with Neville."

"What for?"

"If Tracey doesn't want to make her move, then maybe I will."

Harry was gobsmacked, Neville had two girls after him? Should he warn him? He relaxed and smiled as Astoria chuckled at him and then she turned to return to the house. She didn't get far before he heard an Apparition behind him and he saw that Roxanne was ready for him. He walked over to her and a few seconds later, they were on their way.

His heart fell when he saw Dowager Longbottom standing straight and tall with a perfectly composed but cold face as she politely and formally greeted Roxanne without a hint of warmth. There was a hint of real welcome as she greeted him and then she pulled him through the ward and just gave a perfunctory nod as Roxanne bid her and Harry a goodbye. There was no sign of a thawing at all and he exchanged a grim look with Neville after Neville had given him a hearty welcome.

Harry was going to attempt to speak with her about the Greengrasses but it was as if Dowager Longbottom knew what he had in mind as she quickly took her leave after leading them into the manor house and left them to their own devices. How was he supposed to change her mind if she never gave him a chance? When she was obviously out of earshot he turned to Neville again.

"She doesn't seem to have softened up about the Greengrasses at all."

Neville grimaced briefly before responding. "No. When I tried to bring it up, she brought up how they hadn't taken a side in the war. She said anyone that didn't have the gumption to oppose Voldemort isn't worth knowing."

Harry couldn't let that rest as it was. "They took me in, doesn't that indicate that they're taking a side now?"

Neville shrugged before answering. "I think so but it can be hard to tell what Gran is thinking. I know she likes you and she likes that we are friends. She also supports our familial alliance."

Harry sighed before saying, "I guess we'll have to try to build on that."

"I guess." Neville hesitated then motioned towards the door as he said, "Want to see those plants you gave me? One of them is blooming now."

Harry couldn't resist trying to lighten the mood by teasing him. "It isn't going to try to eat me, is it?"

Neville chuckled before responding in kind. "It isn't supposed to be carnivorous but you could try offering it a finger to see if it'll take it."

Harry rolled his eyes and with a small chuckle declared, "I'll take a pass on that."

Once they were outside and headed towards the greenhouses, he figured it was private enough for a different subject. He wasn't sure how to approach it so he just blurted it out. "I think you have two girls interested in you."

That got Neville's attention. "What!? Are you serious?"

"I wouldn't tease about that, Neville. I thought Tracey fancied you and Daphne is certain that she does. Since the birthday party, Astoria seems to have taken an interest too. I'm not sure how serious she is though, she's only going to be a first year."

"Astoria?" Neville sounded like he found that one hard to believe.

Harry shrugged and admitted, "I know. She likes to flirt and tease but sometimes she seems serious too. She can be hard to read."

Neville contemplated that as they slowly continued to one of the greenhouses. After he opened the door and Harry had followed him in, he spoke up again.

"I've been thinking about Tracey. She never came out and said anything but she seems to like me."

"I know she likes you, she takes friendship seriously as she doesn't have many friends due to her family status and her house in Hogwarts. I thought she might fancy you too and Daphne assures me that she does. Daphne would have a much better idea about that than I would so I believe her."

"Yeah, a best friend would know about that." Neville paused and looked down in thought before looking up at Harry again. "It could be awkward, you know, her and me, I mean. Can you imagine how some of her house mates would react?"

"Yeah, Malfoy would raise a stink. What if she is willing to take the chance?"

"It's not just Malfoy to worry about, the older years would generally probably ignore her, especially while she's around Daphne. Family status is very important with that lot but that is exactly what makes Tracey vulnerable and being a half blood doesn't help either. We'd have to be **very** careful. What are you and Daphne going to do?"

"Pretty much what we did last year, I guess." Then Harry realized there was something that he'd been forgetting. "I forgot about Hogsmeade visits! I have to get my permission slip signed…." Then he realized it wasn't that simple either. "We still couldn't be seen openly. Bloody hell, I didn't think this through! We can't go to Hogsmeade!"

Neville gave him a very earnest look as he made his point. "Exactly. For Tracey the risk is even greater. I'd hate to be the reason for her to be in danger."

Harry huffed in frustration. "I think we both need to talk to the girls. For one thing, they are cunning Slytherins, they might think of something that we won't. Neither of us should give up yet, Neville."

"I reckon you have a point. I have more than one thing to talk to Tracey about. I'd be tempted to ask her over here but I'm not sure how Gran will react. She'd probably investigate her family, maybe even interrogate Tracey. Ugh. I guess we'll have to write letters to each other." Then Neville seemed to have an epiphany. "Wait a minute! Does this mean that you and Daphne are finally official?"

Finally? Had he been that clueless? Wait, it was probably better not to ask that question, he doubtless had been. He tried to suppress a blush as he admitted, "Yes, she asked me to be her boyfriend. I should have asked her but I was a clueless git so she had to do it. At least you'll have a chance to do it right. I can already tell you it's pretty great having a girlfriend, you should write to Tracey."

It was Neville's turn to sigh. "I guess." In a rather obvious attempt to change the subject, he pointed to a very healthy looking plant and said, "Isn't it pretty?"

Harry decided that they'd pretty much finished that subject anyway so he admired the plant and declared, "You've done a great job with it, Neville and you're right, that's a pretty flower."

* * *

When Roxanne arrived at the Longbottom Apparition site, she found all of them already waiting even though she wasn't late. The two boys were quietly sharing some joke, or so it appeared but Dowager Longbottom was even more aloof if that was possible. It wasn't until they had finished their formal greetings that she noted that Dowager Longbottom seemed a little tense, which was unexpected coming from her. The boys seemed to be jovial so nothing had happened between them, then she noted that her farewell to Harry was rigidly formal so something must have happened between the two of them. Harry managed to appear grateful and pleased with his visit so she knew he wasn't the injured party and if he felt guilty, he was covering it well.

It wasn't until they reappeared in the Greengrass Apparition point that she saw his shoulders sag and his mood become more solemn. She didn't want him to feel guilty about something that was unlikely to be his fault so she brought it up immediately. "What happened between you and Dowager Longbottom?"

Harry sighed and looked down before looking up at her with regret on his face. "I may have made things worse."

She put her hand on his shoulder to reassure him and asked as they began to walk towards the manor, "What things?"

"The problems between House Greengrass and Dowager Longbottom. I saw a chance to try to convince her you could be allies but I may have messed the whole thing up. She barely talks to me now."

"First of all, Harry, the problems are not your fault nor are they your responsibility to fix. Cyrus and Dowager Longbottom have to deal with that. I'm pleased that you tried and I don't want you to beat yourself up about it. Tell me what happened, perhaps I can help set your mind at ease."

"It was at lunchtime and the first part seemed to go over well, I told her how you have taken me in and made me feel like part of the family. Then I pointed out your friendship with my mother and how you were on their custody list and she got real quiet and withdrawn. I then pointed out that any family decisions in the first war were made by Cyrus' father, not him and by then I could tell I was losing her. She has barely looked at me since and when it was time for dinner, she didn't even show up! Neville was telling me she probably just wanted to think about what I said but I think he was trying to make me feel better."

His morose tone and hanging head told her all she had to know about his feelings of guilt. She saw nothing wrong with the content so she focussed on the delivery. "How did you present this information to her? Were you respectful? Were you passionate? How was your tone of voice?"

Harry stopped and gaped at her as if he couldn't believe that she'd asked those questions and she had to hide her amusement from him. "Of course I was respectful. I know how Dowager Longbottom is, I was formal, I presented things logically and I used the speaking tips and advice on how to convince people of something that Cyrus has been teaching me. I used a light trance so if there was any passion, it was light. I was careful, I know better now." His frown had deepened as he spoke so she had to put him at ease again.

She smiled warmly at him and tried to show how proud of him she was. "Then you have absolutely nothing to feel bad about, Harry. The older someone gets, the harder it is for them to accept that they might be wrong. If she is offended by anything you said, then it is due to her own sensibilities, not due to you. Also, you should remember that Neville knows her better than any of us, it may be that she is trying to come to terms with what you told her."

Harry still looked ambivalent but then he got a contemplative look and looked down to stare at the ground for a few moments. When he looked up again, he seemed calmer. "You mean like Dumbledore?"

"Exactly, Dumbledore has become so accustomed to being adored and believed that it is hard for him to see beyond his own perceptions. He wouldn't be inclined to accept any dissenting opinion and Dowager Longbottom is similar in that. This is something that requires patience and you have given her plenty to consider, I suggest you let it go unless she approaches you. Also, remember that this isn't your responsibility. Okay, Harry?"

He looked contemplative again, turned and then started slowly walking towards the manor. Eventually she heard a quiet "OK" from him and she was relieved that that issue seemed to be settled for now. Better yet, she hoped Astoria would be a good distraction for him as she'd seemed anxious to see Harry after his visit to the Longbottoms. She also suspected he'd want to see Sirius again, especially since Daphne wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

* * *

Astoria's enthusiastic greeting when he found her was gratifying but her first question really made Harry feel put on the spot. "Did you put a good word in for me with Neville?" He hadn't been sure of how serious she was so he'd never really tried to promote her interest in him. Now what could he do?

"I did tell him about you but he wasn't sure how serious you were, well, me neither, actually."

He saw consternation on her face but it faded to contemplation before she grimaced briefly before answering. "Fair enough. I probably didn't make a favourable impression based on how I behaved. I have to admit, I'm not really sure about dating anymore. I've been getting warnings from everyone so I'm going to be more careful. He's a good guy so when I'm ready, I want to consider him. If he's taken – by Tracey or anyone else – then fine, I will leave that alone." Then she smirked at him and added, "But if he's available, I might go after him then."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "Good and if he doesn't have a girlfriend, I'll put in a good word for you then."

She gave him a genuine smile. "Having a big brother isn't so bad."

She liked to dish it out, but could she take it? Harry decided to find out. "The jury is still out on having a little sister though."

She feigned outrage and exclaimed, "What? You…." She began to move towards him but he was too fast for her and led her on a chase through the house and she never gained ground and in fact lost some. When she gave up, puffing softly, he looked at her with a big grin, having hardly raised his heartbeat. He considered the fact that this was the difference between him working out and her not.

Before he could think of what to say, he heard Roxanne say, "What are you two up to?"

Harry decided to up the ante. "Astoria likes to tease but can't take it when someone teases her back."

Astoria huffed with exaggerated annoyance, "That's his side! I say that big brothers can be a nuisance!"

Harry quit acting and gave a genuine smile. "I kind of like that: big brother."

Astoria gave him a mock scowl and teased back, "I may take that back yet, Harry."

Roxanne laughed and remarked, "I'm glad you two aren't seriously annoyed with each other but let's not go tearing around the house either."

Harry gave her an eager look. "Can we go visit Sirius?"

She seemed to suppress a chuckle before she answered, "I'm surprised you waited this long to ask." He saw her eyes cut towards Astoria and he saw her looking uncertain and he suspected she'd find a reason not to come along once again. However, he thought that Sirius and Astoria just might get along, they both liked to have fun and they were not shy with their own brands of humour.

"Come on, Astoria. Come meet Sirius, he loves to joke around and I think you'd like him if you take the time to talk with him."

She gave him a sceptical look but then her lips began to curl up and he wondered what she'd come up with now. "Would you be a good big brother and protect me?"

Was she really that nervous about him? "I don't think you'd need protection but sure, I wouldn't let you get hurt."

The hint of a smirk implied that she wasn't really that nervous but he didn't care as long as she was going to give Sirius a chance. Their greetings at the outside door to Sirius' quarters began as usual until Sirius saw Astoria looking at him curiously. He bent down towards her to be more at her level as he asked, "Finally decided to come to check me out, Astoria?"

Harry saw her eyes flick to him before she answered. "Something like that, your godson thought I should give you a chance."

Sirius' grin at her widened. "Don't worry, I don't bite; even when I'm a dog."

She gave him a smirk that looked very promising but she still took the chair farthest from him when they settled down.

Sirius gave him an earnest look and asked, "So, what is bothering you, Harry?"

Apparently he was still easy to read, he'd have to work on that. "I tried to convince Dowager Longbottom that the Greengrasses aren't bad but she seems to be angry with me now."

Sirius looked uncertain, turned to look at Roxanne and asked, "Frank's Mother?"

Harry couldn't see her while facing Sirius but Roxanne must have confirmed it as Sirius rolled his eyes, sighed, and then asked "What's got her knickers in a twist now?"

Harry couldn't help laughing and Astoria was giggling too. Roxanne must have given him a look because he smirked and shrugged at her. He then looked back at Harry and asked what happened and he responded with a slightly more detailed account than he gave before. Sirius exchanged a look with Roxanne again and then contemplated it for a few moments.

He looked up at Harry and declared, "You didn't do anything wrong, she's always held to her own opinions more tightly than she ought to. Don't push her, let her come to you if she wants but absolutely remain polite to her. She won't abide any sort of disrespect or anything that she'd interpret that way."

Harry nodded as he replied, "Your advice is similar to Roxanne's."

"You could do worse than listen to her, Harry. Don't worry about Augusta, she's always had a wand up her…."

Roxanne's annoyed voice cut in forcefully. "Sirius!"

Despite that, Harry couldn't help doubling over in laughter and based on what he could hear, Astoria was in a similar state. Harry was just recovering and looking up at Sirius again when he spoke to Roxanne with a face full of mirth. "You don't know for sure what I was about to say next." Harry had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet; he didn't want to interrupt of miss a moment of this.

Roxanne's voice was stern. "It's not hard to guess what was coming next, Sirius Black. Perhaps I should have a private woman-to-woman talk with Sami."

Harry wasn't sure what to make of what she'd said but the momentary look of alarm on Sirius' face was enough to inform him that it was not something that Sirius wanted to happen. Sirius cleared his throat as he glanced over at Harry and Astoria and then was more conciliatory. "That won't be necessary, I know I need to watch my tongue, I'll be careful around impressionable ears."

Roxanne didn't sound convinced as she responded, "See to it that you are." There was a short, uncomfortable silence before she spoke to Sirius again. "Perhaps this is a good time for your talk with Harry."

For a moment, Sirius gave her a puzzled look before his face cleared and gradually took on a slightly apprehensive look. He then glanced toward Astoria and looked back at Roxanne with an inquiring expression.

Instead of answering him directly, Roxanne stood up and spoke to Astoria. "Come, Astoria, Sirius and Harry need to have a private conversation, you'll see Harry later. Goodnight, Sirius."

Harry looked at Roxanne as she was waiting for Astoria as she and Sirius exchanged goodbyes and Roxanne gave Harry a momentary smirk before turning away. What was going on? He looked at Sirius and saw that he seemed nervous so this was looking worse and worse to Harry. What did they need to talk about and why did it need to be private?

Harry's attention snapped back to Sirius as he tentatively began to speak. "So, Harry… ummm, has anyone told you about where little wizards and witches come from?"

Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. They were **NOT** going to have this conversation! He immediately fired back, "They covered that in school."

Sirius gave him a confused look, "Hogwarts?"

"No, Muggle school," Harry said pointedly.

Sirius looked relieved. 'Ah, good then, Muggle school, right." Sirius nodded to himself but his mood became more solemn as he looked at Harry again. "We still have to talk about how to treat girls and what is appropriate behaviour at your age."

Harry wondered how Roxanne could have done this to him. He'd been abandoned to get 'the talk' and just to make it worse, he was going to get a lecture on proper behaviour from someone who he wasn't sure even knew what that was. He'd heard enough stories from Sirius to have substantial doubts about him ever having exhibited good decision-making while at Hogwarts. This was going to be AWFUL.

* * *

Robert's investigation into the escape of Sirius Black had resulted in no real progress for the stated purpose of the inquiry, which was actually a relief. There was no trace of his Animagus transformations as those were internal and rarely left any trace. He had found traces of a curse in the cell Sirius had been in so it appeared that Sirius was alive due to his attacker's poor aim rather than lack of skill. However, the residual was too weak to get a magical signature although he did manage to identify the exact curse. He didn't have to keep any secrets and he could report his full findings officially.

Well, not all of them as he had found out who had put the curse on Sirius but he could hardly explain how he might have gotten a recording of the magical signature involved, not now anyway. That was only step one though, now he had to research his suspect to find out why he might have done it – or who may have hired him to do it. That certainly wasn't going to be easy but Robert liked it that way. He loved a good challenge or mystery, it's why he'd taken his job after all.

* * *

Roxanne had not seen Harry after he returned after his talk with Sirius but his mumbled 'good morning' to her after a more enthusiastic greeting with Astoria told her that she may have erred last night. She had chosen that timing to get back at Sirius but Harry may have taken the brunt of the consequences of her decision. She'd have to talk to him later as now didn't appear to be the proper time. He'd undoubtedly be in in a better mood when Daphne returned from her sleepover later that day. She had better news to make it up to him too but that should wait until Daphne was there to share the news as well. In the meantime, she may have to bear some silent treatment from Harry.

* * *

Harry was trailing Roxanne as she headed to the Apparition point to go get Daphne. He knew this made it rather obvious that he was anxious to see his girlfriend but that certainly wasn't a secret. After all, he should miss her, shouldn't he? The part he wasn't as sure of was why Astoria was trailing him. He felt a little guilty about being so quiet this day, it was hardly a good way to treat his honorary little sister but he was still trying to come to terms with the conversation he'd had with Sirius.

It didn't take very long for him to hear from her once her mother Disapparated. "So, what bothers you more, missing your girlfriend or whatever you talked to Sirius about last night?"

Ugh. Leave it to Astoria to notice things like that and then bring it out in the open for discussion. However, he at least owed her an honest answer. "Both. It's hard to compare the two so I couldn't say which of them bothers me more. By the way, we will _**not**_ be discussing what Sirius and I talked about."

"That bad, hunh?"

He turned to look at her and he saw her smirking at him. It seems he revealed just a little bit too much with what he said. He could push back too though. "Still not talking about it."

"I'm not pushing you to talk about it, I'm being sympathetic."

Her expression didn't match what she said, she was enjoying this way too much. "I'm not buying that, 'little sister'."

She shrugged as if unconcerned, "You can't blame a girl for trying."

He gave her a mock scowl. "Actually, I could."

She gave a theatrical, annoyed huff and replied, "You definitely need lessons on being a good big brother."

He wasn't going to give up easily. "Fine, I'll find a big brother and ask him for pointers."

Her smirk was back. "Actually, you should ask a little sister, they'd give better advice."

"No, they'd just give me the advice you want me to hear."

She mock gasped and exclaimed, "Who told you?! That is top secret little sister knowledge!"

He rolled his eyes at her and she began to giggle at him. When she was done, she spoke up again. "That was a distraction, did it work?"

He looked at her expression carefully and she seemed to be earnest. Either she was still messing with him or she was more cunning than he realized. He decided to accept it at face value, for now. "Yes, that worked."

"Good, I don't want you to be a moody git, that would ruin my sister's mood and she might take it out on me."

"I'll have you know that I've been working on the 'moody git' thing. I'm a lot better than I used to be."

Her eyes got big and he knew she was preparing a zinger. "Wow! You must have been really bad before then!"

It was time to poke her back. "Ha, ha, ha. Little sisters aren't as funny as they think they are."

"Or maybe that's what we just want you to think." She then nonchalantly turned away and began walking towards the house. Did he just get played? He was still trying to figure it out when he heard an Apparition behind him. He turned back eagerly and gave Daphne a big grin, at least she didn't mess with him like her little sister did.

She quickly ran up to him and for a moment he thought she might kiss him, right there in front of her mother! However, it turned out to be just an exuberant hug and as he was releasing her from his return hug, he noticed that Roxanne was grinning at them. He'd probably looked awkward at the reunion, he really needed to stop wearing his heart on his sleeve for all to see. Daphne was already dragging him toward the house, chattering away.

Harry felt a little embarrassed when he finally became aware that she'd asked him a question. They were in her room (with the door open, of course) and she'd been talking excitedly about her sleepover but all he'd gotten out of it was that she had had a wonderful time and that Tracey knew about Sirius and was happy for their new relationship status. Now he had to tell her what had him so distracted, at least part of it wasn't humiliating; he'd start with that.

He explained about what happened with Neville's grandmother and she agreed with the advice he'd been given and told him not to worry about it anymore. Then she asked if that was all. He sighed as he realized he would probably have to talk to her about it sooner or later anyway, he may as well get it over with now.

"Well, umm… I had a rather err… awkward conversation with Sirius." That alone was humiliating! He couldn't get a whole sentence out without hemming and hawing.

She frowned in confusion before asking, "About what?"

Was it too late to change his mind? Based on her concerned look, it definitely was. "Actually, it was something your mother seemed to set up. He gave me… the talk."

She tilted her head and her nose crinkled slightly as she asked, "You mean about sex?"

Whoa. She came right out and said it! He just nodded, not wanting to speak right then.

Her tinkling laughter rang out and it took her a moment to recover herself enough to speak. "Harry, everyone has to go through that sooner or later. It's not a big deal. Just think about having that conversation with my father… or my mother!" She laughed again but Harry didn't find it so humorous although he had to admit that one of her parents doing it would have been worse.

He decided to try to change the tangent of the conversation to be slightly less embarrassing. "It wasn't all about the, err… sex part. There was a funny part though. He talked about what he did with girls when he was older. It sounded like what not to do but I'm not sure that was his point."

She looked at him curiously. "Like what?"

"Well, he talked about giving girls what sounded like insincere compliments and enticing them into broom closets."

She gave him a moue of distaste. "Definitely what not to do, I hate guys who give insincere compliments. Never do that and forget the broom closets too." She then grinned at him as she leaned towards him and ended with a sultry whisper, "There are better places for a boy and girl to go than a broom closet."

He felt tongue-tied for an entirely different reason now. She broke the silence with, "So what was the bad part?"

He got his brain back in gear to answer. "It was about proper behaviour, what we shouldn't do at our age…."

Now Daphne was serious too. "Did he talk about me?"

"Not you specifically, no. He talked about girls in general but obviously, you're my girlfriend now."

She nodded absently as she seemed lost in thought. She looked at him again and asked, "Like what, exactly?"

Oh, no. Not that part, did she really mean that part? "You mean what not to do?"

She nodded at him with an inquisitive gaze before adding, "Right."

This was going to be awful. He looked down as he fully expected her to break out in hysterics again. He decided to quote him and get it over with. "He said that when we're older to make sure the girl is on the potion but for now, not to put wand P into wand holder V."

It took him a moment to realize that there was dead silence, no laughter at all. He looked up and saw an appalled look on her face and she looked rather pink too. It had been embarrassing for him but he hadn't expected it to affect her like this.

Her voice was quiet but incredulous. "Wand holder V?"

He still wasn't sure why she was reacting this way so he answered carefully. "That's what he said, I quoted him word for word."

Her face became intense as she practically hissed, "We have got to get him back for that!"

This was very unexpected, she was taking it personally and he didn't know why. "What do you mean?"

"He thinks he's some great prankster right? Well, _we_ are going to prank _him_."

* * *

They had just gotten done with a gruelling session for the both of them about the abuse that Sirius had suffered from his mother. How a woman could do such things to her own child was beyond Sami's comprehension but this is where they were and she had to help him deal with it. Azkaban was only one of the things Sirius had to deal with, it was a wonder he wasn't even more traumatized that he was!

She was pondering what she could use as a subject for them to decompress a bit and end her visit on a less stressful note. She was distracted from that task by a question from Sirius.

"Sami, we've been talking only about me here, you've had some trauma of your own. I heard about what happened to your parents, just after your time with the Aurors ended. If you wanted to talk, I'm willing to listen."

She looked over at him and saw a very earnest expression but his suggestion was nothing like the subject she'd been looking for. Her first instinct was to change the subject but on the other hand, he wouldn't be her patient forever. She'd like a friendship with him and friends should share their good times and their bad times so she shouldn't reject his suggestion out of hand. The fact that it was still difficult for her to talk about wasn't much of a consideration as he'd been displaying remarkable openness once she had made him comfortable talking to her, shouldn't she be able to share as well as he had?

She had remained indecisive long enough for a concerned expression to form on his face, she wouldn't allow her own reticence to ruin the openness between them. It was time for her to open up as well. Besides, didn't she tell her patients about the therapeutic value of sharing their burdens? She didn't want to be a hypocrite.

She took a deep breath and began quietly with, "That was a very difficult time of my life and I have to admit that it nearly destroyed me." She swallowed and after a glance back up at him to see sympathy in his eyes, she continued. "I was only in my second year of training and partly due to the war, they were always looking for chances for us to be out of the hospital, dealing with real patients. That's how I ended up spending a period of time with the Aurors and although I learned some practical lessons in physical healing from my time there, it was the untreated mental issues that stayed with me. It was so sad to see so many of the Aurors dealing with the stress of their jobs and not always in productive ways."

She checked his expression again and it was interested and thoughtful, he nodded at her and offered a wan, sympathetic smile. He wasn't too bad at getting people to talk either, she wondered if he had picked up on some of her tricks for that purpose.

"It seemed like I had just gotten back into going to classes full time again when suddenly one of the Aurors came to see me, one that I barely knew. He told me that my parents had been found dead, killed in their own home and then the house had been burned down on top of their bodies. There wasn't much left for a funeral."

She had to stop and closed her eyes tightly to stop the tears from coming down but that failed as she could feel some escape and trickle down her cheeks. She was nearly startled by a warm hand covering her own. She stared down at their hands and realized the reversal of roles that had just taken place. She felt like the patient now and that probably wasn't a bad thing as a healer should never forget what it feels like as the patient.

If she was going to do this right, she had to bring it all out. "I read the report later but sometimes I wish they hadn't let me see it. My parents were tortured before they were killed. A bunch of Death Eaters did it, just because my mother was a Muggleborn and they weren't able to identify who did it. My parents will never see justice, at least none that we'll know about. I sometimes wonder if some of them who bought their way out of Azkaban were among them."

She realized that she had turned into a veritable hosepipe and was embarrassed when Sirius offered her tissues but she took them nonetheless. It was better than crying all over everything. It took realizing that he was holding her hand again to bring her out of her misery enough to look at him. He looked sad for her but he was steadfast and appeared to be ready to listen to more, she couldn't help but feel a warmth within her for his care.

"They both worked for the Ministry, my father was in the maintenance department and my mother was a clerk for the Department of Magical Transportation. They never bothered anyone, kept to themselves. They supported the efforts to stop V-Voldemort but they weren't public about it. They had no reason to target them other than _blood status_."

She had hissed out the last two words as if they were a curse. All of her bitterness welled up inside her and it took her a few moments to quell her outrage, there was no point to venting at Sirius about that.

"I nearly quit healer's school." She looked at him and again saw an attentive look so she looked down at their hands again and continued. "Fortunately, one of my professors took me under her wing and encouraged me, reminded me of what I'd said when I started as a healer when they asked me why I wanted to be one." She chuckled mirthlessly and shook her head. "I was so naïve." She paused and then spoke up again. "There's no telling what would have happened to me if she hadn't convinced me to stay. I finally decided it was still a worthy dream, a way to make something good out of what I had left."

She sighed and gave him an appreciative look before she tried again. "They didn't leave me much, their home was pretty much all they'd had. There was insurance but the company didn't want to pay. Called it an 'act of war' not covered by the policy. I settled for knuts on the galleon, barely had enough to finish school, I couldn't afford to wait them out."

She again had to stifle her bitterness and hadn't realized that she had closed her eyes until she felt him squeeze her hand. How had such a compassionate man come out of the childhood he'd had? She had no clue. "When I finished healer school I got a job at St. Mungo's and everything started out well. I made a good impression, even the chief of staff took an interest in my career. When I told him about my desire to treat stress and other mental conditions, he arranged the financing for me to study Psychology at a Muggle university. I had such high hopes…."

She cleared her throat in embarrassment, she'd managed to lose herself in her thoughts once again. "He retired soon after I got back. His replacement wasn't interested in 'Muggle ideas' and I eventually ended up in the basement with no patients. Looking back, I'm a little embarrassed I let myself get relegated to the basement like that. Maybe I might have had to give up on my dream of being a mind healer but I could have still been a healer. I was too stubborn."

The silence had consumed them for several moments so she was slightly surprised to hear Sirius speak up. "You weren't stubborn, the new chief of staff was an idiot. If you want to go into business for yourself, just tell me. I'll loan you what you need and endorse you." It was Sirius' turn to chuckle mirthlessly before he continued. "I'll endorse you _after_ my name is cleared when that would mean something."

She looked at his lopsided grin and shining eyes and the next thing she knew she was hugging him as if he was all she had to hang on to. She wondered if that might actually be the reality of it but pushed it aside and revelled in the comfort she was feeling.

* * *

Sirius had missed his godson as he hadn't visited that afternoon. He'd sort of expected it since not only was Daphne returning but their conversation the previous night must have been awkward for Harry. He observed Harry carefully as he joined them for dinner and as he suspected, Harry was a bit distant but at least he was not angry. What was a little surprising was that Daphne was very stoic and formal with him. Harry must have told her that their conversation was less than satisfactory so she was taking her boyfriend's side, as she should. He was a little puzzled by the speculative looks from Astoria but everything seemed normal with Roxy and Cyrus so he didn't worry overmuch.

He did want to get in his godson's good books so he decided to start that right away. "I got a reply from Remus Lupin and he included a note for you, Harry." He handed over the note and saw that Harry gave it a curious look but then slipped it into a pocket instead of opening it. He was a little disappointed by that reaction but then it was probably the best thing to do from Harry's point of view.

"He wants to meet and Roxy told me about a property that can't be tied to your family, Cyrus. I was wondering if I could borrow it for a while in the next few days."

Cyrus nodded as he replied, "Yes, my wife spoke to me about that. It's fine with me. Do you think we need some security for the meeting?"

"I'd like a quick exit strategy, just in case. I was thinking of borrowing Dobby for the visit and he could not only pull me out if necessary, he could also come and fetch Harry if I believe that Remus will keep our secrets." He turned to look at Harry as he said this and after a momentary thoughtful look, Harry replied

"That's fine with me. I'd like to meet Mr. Lupin if he seems trustworthy."

Cyrus nodded again and added, "That sounds like a plan, then. Roxanne can get you there when the time comes, just arrange things with her."

"Thank you, Cyrus and Roxanne."

Cyrus got a hint of a smirk on his face as he spoke up again. "Since we are doing announcements, Roxanne would you like to do the honours?"

Her big smile indicated that she was very pleased to do so. "Harry, girls, we are going to the beach house for the final week of summer."

Sirius could see that Harry was uncertain of how to react while the two Greengrass daughters celebrated. Since he hadn't been mentioned, he assumed that he'd be left behind so he began to dread a lonely week. He then saw that Roxy had noticed Harry's reaction and turned to him.

"Apparently, nobody mentioned that we have a beach house and we typically spend at least a week there every summer. This had been a rather busy summer so we had put it off but we don't want to skip it entirely. Do you like the beach, Harry?"

Harry hesitated a moment before replying and since he was turned to face Roxy, Sirius couldn't see his expression. "I think I'd like it but I've never been, really. Just before Hagrid gave me my letter my uncle took us to an island but it was pretty rocky and it didn't really have a beach."

He noticed Roxy and Cyrus exchanging grim looks but Daphne seemed to want to reassure Harry. "You'll love our beach house, Harry. It's near Land's End and the beach is fantastic and on a warm day, we can go swimming."

Sirius still couldn't see Harry's expression but it must not have been wholly enthusiastic as she continued with, "Can you swim, Harry?"

Harry shook his head 'no' and Daphne covered his hand with hers and spoke more softly but Sirius could still hear her just fine. "I'll teach you, don't worry about it."

With Harry apparently settled to her satisfaction, she then turned to her mother. "We have to go shopping, I need a new swimsuit."

Astoria quickly chimed in with, "Me too!"

Roxy looked amused but then turned to Harry again. "Do you have a swimsuit, Harry?"

He shook his head 'no' and then Roxy spoke again. "You'll have to come with us to Harrods then."

Sirius was just starting to wonder what a Harrods was when Harry asked, "That's a Muggle store! You go to Muggle stores?"

Daphne giggled before answering for them. "Harry, you wouldn't believe what wizards think should be worn to the beach. We have to go to a Muggle store and mother is there so it's safe."

Harry seemed to regard her for a moment before responding, "Of course it's safe, it's a very posh store."

Daphne seemed to be hiding a blush by turning away. "I know. It's just that… a lot of Muggles make me a little nervous."

It was Harry's turn to reassure Daphne but his whispered response was still clear to Sirius. "Most Muggles are fine. Don't base your opinion on my relatives."

Sirius' attention snapped back to Roxy when she said, "You are invited too, Sirius. I believe your healer told you to get a little sun." Her smirk implied that she was thinking of what Sami actually had said.

Sirius couldn't help but bark out a laugh before he answered. "That's the polite way of putting it. I could come once Sami leaves, just to spend a little time there."

"Or you can come with us and return for the mornings, either way. That can be decided later. I can get you some swimming trunks."

He saw a glimmer of humour in her eyes and decided not to trust her. "Only if they are plain black."

Amusement bloomed on Roxanne's face before she responded with obviously false sincerity. "You don't trust me?"

Again, his bark of laughter slipped out before he responded. "I seem to recall a few pranks that you pulled."

She assumed a not totally convincing demure look. "That was just retaliation."

Sirius wondered what she was talking about. "We never pranked you!"

"I retaliated on behalf of others, someone had to keep you guys in check."

Sirius was distracted momentarily by an amused interaction between Harry and Daphne and he hoped it was a positive sign of a thaw between him and them. He affected a wounded demeanour, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Roxanne's response was practically dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure."

"Are you two children done?" Cyrus was wearing an amused look when he spoke but it faded under a glare from his wife before she smiled and shrugged at her husband who rolled his eyes in return.

After a few moments of quiet, Roxanne spoke to Harry. "You seemed a little uncomfortable when we discussed shopping, Harry."

He saw his godson stiffen slightly under her scrutiny but then he relaxed and answered her. "Well, I've never really been shopping in the Muggle world but I've heard from other blokes that it's sort of… well, boring."

Daphne spoke up with a slightly chiding tone. "Harry, you need clothes and you need a new trunk too. How else are you going to get them?"

Harry shrugged. "I know."

Roxanne then spoke up. "Is there anything you'd like to do in the Muggle world? We could add that to the agenda."

Harry paused a few moments and then hesitatingly said, "I'd kind of like to go to a movie."

That got Roxanne enthused. "Lily took me to the cinema a couple of times! That would be fun, I haven't been to one in years. We'll have to get a Muggle newspaper, to see what is playing."

After a few moments, Daphne quietly offered, "If you are really good while we are shopping, I'll model my new swimsuit for you."

Sirius noted two things at once, Harry seemed gobsmacked and Cyrus did an aborted spit take and looked a little uncomfortable. Daphne had either forgotten her audience or spoken more loudly than she had intended as she looked very embarrassed. Roxanne broke the uncomfortable silence with a remark to her husband.

"Are you alright, dear?" Her tone was a little teasing which caused Cyrus to narrow his eyes at her.

His response was rather sarcastic as he said, "I'm fine, darling. Thank you for your concern."

Sirius thought once again that Cyrus was a very lucky man. Personally, he was lucky that he had Sami in his life…. It was a good thing he hadn't been drinking just then or he'd be dealing with a spit take. Where had that come from? Grudgingly, he admitted to himself that he might have to think about his relationship with Sami – someday.


	8. Once Upon a Prank

Chapter 8 Once Upon a Prank

A/N: In this chapter, Harry discovers that even shopping can be fun if you do it with the right people. Many thanks for the follows, favorites and especially reviews! Also, a special thank you to my brilliant beta Shygui. My story suggestion is Living Dangerously by CGPH; it features a Daphne from a different background but she isn't quite sure about following in her family's footsteps.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. – Lao Tzu

Roxanne was suspicious of the sudden desire of Daphne and Harry to see Sirius immediately after breakfast. Sure, they didn't have classes today and Sami wasn't coming over today either so they were all free but what was the rush? She gave her eldest a suspicious look and asked, "What are you up to?"

Daphne earned narrowed eyes as she huffed in response but her answer was contrite enough to get her out of trouble. "We… may have pranked Sirius. It's important that you not react when you see him. Can't we see him? Please?"

She regarded her hopeful daughter and noted that Harry looked a little sheepish. She didn't want to make a big deal out of this as Sirius probably deserved whatever they had done so she dropped it. "Fine, let's go."

As they walked towards the servant's quarters, she wondered what Sirius had done. Daphne had been the apparent ringleader of whatever was going on yet her only recent contact with Sirius had been at supper the previous evening and she'd already seemed cool towards him then and nothing had really happened. The only thing she could think of was the talk she'd arranged between Harry and Sirius. She hoped she hadn't accidentally started something that she hadn't intended.

When he answered the outside door after her knock, she had barely kept herself from reacting. His robes were a very bright and lurid pink and he had been watching her for a reaction so it had been a close thing despite her daughter's warning. To keep from having a suspicious lull in conversation she quickly spoke up.

"Good morning, Sirius. These two wanted to see you this morning." She pointed with her thumb back over her shoulder towards the two teens who were very quiet.

He smiled at her first and said, "Good morning, Roxy." Then he gave the two teens a suspicious look and asked, "Harry, Daphne. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

They waited a beat too long to answer but it was Harry who eventually spoke up. "I wanted to talk about the visit to see Remus Lupin."

He still looked suspicious but nodded in affirmation. "Good idea, we do have a few details to iron out. Let's sit." He motioned to the seats still out near his abode and led them there.

She wondered why he wasn't saying anything about the robes, it seemed unlike him to not face something like this head on. Harry seemed a bit nervous as they sat in silence for a moment but Daphne remained perfectly stoic.

Sirius huffed and declared. "You've really come to see the results of your prank, haven't you?"

Harry could no longer hide his grin and chuckled for a moment while Daphne only sported a triumphant grin.

Sirius gave Harry a hard look with narrowed eyes. "Your elf lied to me, I was starting to think it might be some sort of glamour that only affected me."

Harry was still grinning as he replied, "He's bound to me, not you and he'll say what I tell him to say."

"Did he change the colours of my robes too?"

Harry lost some of his grin and looked slightly sheepish. "Actually, that was me. He only fetched them for me and returned them when I was done."

Sirius huffed again and then asked, "So, are you going to change them back?"

Harry exchanged a look with Daphne before getting out his wand and muttering a spell under his breath that Roxanne couldn't hear. However, his robes were now sporting black and white stripes, not the grey of his informal robes.

Sirius looked down at his attire and gave Harry a disappointed look. "Really? One thing a prankster has to learn is when the prank is done, it gets tedious if dragged on too long."

Harry said "Finite" and his robes finally returned to normal. Sirius nodded then looked at Harry and asked, "So, why was I pranked?"

Instead of answering, Harry looked to Daphne who was back to a very cold demeanour and she said only three words: "Wand holder V."

What? Wand holder V? What was that supposed to mean? Roxanne looked at Sirius who looked a little guilty. Suddenly, it made some sense given the nature of the talk he was to give Harry. He had probably told Harry things like he used to say at school when he earned a rather unsavoury reputation amongst the female population of Hogwarts. Somehow he found a ready supply of foolish girls to fuel his fantasies of being a ladies' man but the truth was a lot of girls had nothing good to say about Sirius Black. He'd probably cracked the same silly jokes about polishing broom handles or about poking the cauldron. He probably hadn't grown up as much as she'd hoped.

However, Sirius had inadvertently stepped right into one of Daphne's strongest pet peeves. She had been incensed when she heard about the role of women in the magical world in the past and insisted she would never accept being considered a 'brood mare'. Anything hinting that her role in life would be limited to that or that she was some object to be used would infuriate her. Wand holder V was a very, very unfortunate choice of words for Sirius to use.

Sirius' voice was tentative as he said, "That may have been a poor choice of words on my part."

Daphne's voice was frigid when she drawled, "May have?"

Sirius' eyes widened but then his face cleared and he stood and bowed to Daphne. "I, Lord Black am very sorry for any offense I have given to Heiress Greengrass and humbly beg her pardon. I never meant to offend her and I deeply regret that was the result of my poorly chosen words."

He remained bowing and she turned to see that surprise had broken her daughter's cold look. She then looked slightly chagrined before she rose and curtsied as she said, "You are forgiven, Lord Black. We will speak of this no more."

That had been well played by Sirius, he may try to reject the old ways but he knew them. He had given as formal an apology as he could without a wand and it would be an etiquette faux pas for Daphne to not forgive him. She had given up any justification for further retaliation with her reply to 'speak of this no more'. She wondered if Harry understood the significance of that phrasing and based on his somewhat grateful look towards Daphne, It appeared that he was aware of that.

It was a relief to Roxanne to not have this hanging over them anymore given that she had inadvertently started it by suggesting the talk in the first place. Just to put the conversation on less controversial ground, she decided to follow up on the stated purpose of this visit as it was a valid thing to consider. "Did you have a time in mind for the visit with Remus?"

She got a grateful look from Sirius before he answered. "Yes. I decided to accelerate my plans so it won't interfere with your plans, like your shopping trip." He had sent an amused glance towards Harry when he mentioned shopping and although Harry squirmed slightly, the smile never left his face. Sirius then turned back to her and continued, "I was thinking of doing it tomorrow evening, after dinner."

"That sounds good, then we can tentatively schedule shopping for the next day. I should have that Muggle newspaper today so we can choose the film to see."

Roxanne looked at Harry again to see him somewhat distracted. "Did you have a question, Harry?"

Harry looked uncertainly at Sirius, "I was wondering why you thought it might not be a good idea for me to meet Mr. Lupin."

"I actually think that it will be a good idea for you two to meet. I just want to sound out Remus on his loyalties before we do that. I'm still not happy with Dumbledore, I was a member of his order and he did nothing to help me or even contact me. I'd love to know why and Remus may feel that he owes Dumbledore. Dumbledore got Remus into Hogwarts despite what most people would think and now he's got a good job from him too. The Remus I knew was trustworthy but I haven't seen him in years, I'd like time to check him out before I call you in."

Harry nodded contemplatively before responding. "That makes sense. What is he like?"

Sirius got a big smile as he apparently paused to gather his thoughts. "He was the most serious student of the four of us. He gave your mother a run for her money for top student, along with Roxy of course." He gave her a nod before he continued. "He was the voice of reason when we might have gotten a little carried away but he was also the brains behind some of our best pranks. We never held his 'furry little problem' against him. He was a very gentle person, very empathetic with other people too. He was – probably still is – a good man."

Harry was smiling too after hearing that. "Sounds like a bloke that I want to meet then."

"I'm sure you will, Harry. I'm sure you will."

Roxanne fully relaxed and watched the others. Daphne had given up her grudge and Harry and Sirius had reconnected, things were looking very good.

* * *

Harry found the correct page of the newspaper and started perusing the ads when his eyes got caught on an ad that boggled his mind. He was struck speechless, this must be the most awesome movie ever! He had to see this one! He looked up at the female Greengrasses who were also gazing at the ads. When Roxanne looked his way, he pointed to it and said with finality, "This one!"

While Roxanne took a closer look, Daphne had a disappointed reaction. "Lizards? You want to see a movie about big lizards?"

Harry couldn't believe what she was saying. "Lizards? Daphne, those are dinosaurs! They are so much cooler!"

Daphne gave him a puzzled look as she slowly repeated the word. "Die no sores?"

Harry was incredulous. "No, dinosaurs! You've never heard of dinosaurs?"

He looked at Roxanne for help but she looked as perplexed as Daphne. He looked at Astoria, who was his last hope. She was still looking at the ad with a frown. When she gave him a puzzled look, he huffed in frustration. "None of you have heard of dinosaurs? Haven't any of you studied natural history?"

They exchanged confused looks and then all turned to face him and they all shook their heads no. Fantastic, how was he supposed to explain dinosaurs to people who'd never heard of them? He needed a book from a Muggle library, he knew they'd be enthusiastic then.

He'd been only partly right. After convincing Roxanne to take him to a Muggle library, he returned with a picture book about dinosaurs. Only Astoria was fascinated, Daphne and Roxanne had only mild interest. Harry couldn't understand it, even his fat, lazy cousin thought dinosaurs were cool! Maybe only guys really liked them? No, that wasn't right as Astoria was enthused, he guessed he'd have to settle for that.

It got no better at dinner as both Sirius and Cyrus denied ever having heard the word before. He still found their ignorance to be incredible, how could they not know about dinosaurs? After dinner, Sirius did get fascinated by the book and showed a couple of the pictures to Cyrus who was still lurking around but apparently trying not to look too interested for some reason that escaped Harry.

Sirius looked at a picture of a pterosaur and then remarked to nobody in particular, "I wonder if they are related to dragons."

That startled Harry, he had never connected dinosaurs and magical creatures but there actually were some common characteristics between them. Could they be related?

* * *

Sirius was excited and apprehensive at the same time. Sami had decided it was time to take him out into the world again and to accomplish something at the same time so he was going to check out his old home. She'd put a minor glamour on him to look different and after describing the location, she was confident she could take them there. He could probably Apparate himself just fine now but it was easier to let her do it as he wasn't certain about taking someone along with him yet. He didn't want to be responsible for any splinching.

As they gathered near the Apparition point, Sirius felt conflicted by the concerned look on his godson's face. On one hand, it was nice that he was concerned for his godfather's welfare but on the other hand, he didn't want him to worry about something with so little chance of going badly, especially since his godson had assigned his house elf as a sort of bodyguard. "Harry, I'll be fine. Dobby had promised to pop us out of there if things go badly and Sami is a fully qualified witch. I'm going to my own ancestral home as the Lord Black and the wards will actually protect me there. Also, if that crazy old elf is actually alive, he can't harm me either as I'm his master. I'm only going there for a little while to see the condition of the house, see if the elf is alive and get my head of house ring, that's it."

Harry only looked slightly mollified. "I know, it's just…." Harry huffed in frustration but Sirius got the feeling that whatever he wanted to say, he was uncomfortable with voicing it. The fact that Harry was an orphan probably meant he was afraid of losing his godfather.

He gave him a reassuring look and kept his voice firm. "I promise you, Harry. I will be back."

Harry gave him a nod and a quick hug before he stood back to watch them go. Before he could take Sami's hand for her to side-along Apparate him to Grimmauld Place, Dobby spoke up.

"Dobby will bring sir's Dogfather back. Dobby promises to take care of Dogfather and Dogfather's missy Sami too!"

Sirius kept himself from reacting to the house elf's proclamation as now even house elves were trying to pair them up! He cleared his throat and gave Sami a look encouraging her to get them out of here while he took her hand. She gave him a mischievous smile before she Apparated them away from the Greengrass Apparition point. It took a moment for Sirius to recover, it had been so long since he'd last gone side-along that he'd forgotten how disorienting it could be.

They stood in the small park in front of his old home and he couldn't help but feel a chill at being back here after all those years away. In a way, it was almost as bad as returning to Azkaban but he reminded himself that his parents were dead. The only thing that might be waiting for him in there was an old house elf, nothing more. Yeah, that and a ton of bad memories but he wouldn't let bad memories stop him, he was stronger than that.

He was startled from his thoughts by the pop of Dobby appearing next to them. He looked to Sami but she was already putting her wand away. "I put notice-me-not charms on all three of us. It's time to face your past, Sirius. I'll be right here with you to help in any way I can."

He had to smile back at her supportive and compassionate look at him so he turned back to face his ancestral home. He recognized it certainly, but it had a drab and dilapidated look to it that was new. The bushes were overgrown and the lawn was an untended mess. It hadn't been that long since his mother died. What was it - about four years? Had she been letting things go before her death? If the inside was anything like the outside, it needed a lot of work.

He wasn't sure what the Black wards would obscure from Sami so he asked her, "Do you see number 12?"

She was already peering in that direction and answered slowly. "Yes, but it isn't easy, I have to fight an urge to look away. It also isn't real clear to me, as if I was looking through dirty glass and it's rather disorienting."

That sounded about right, they didn't have a Fidelus on the place, or at least they hadn't the last he had heard but they had some old and very potent wards and they wouldn't be friendly to anyone who wasn't a Black. They would also make sure that Muggles didn't notice a thing. Yet again, Sirius found it ironic that such a Muggle-hating family had their main house in a Muggle neighbourhood.

He wasn't going to accomplish anything standing there staring at the house from across the road, he began to walk forward and the two beings with him kept in step with him although Dobby's feet had to move a lot faster than theirs. When they got to the road, he noticed that the neighbourhood was strangely quiet for mid-morning in the summer. There was no traffic nor pedestrians to affect their progress. He walked across the road and when they got to the sidewalk on the other side he paused to caution his guests.

"Stay behind me until I determine that the wards will accept me. Neither of you will like what happens if you come into contact with the wards without a Black to make certain you are accepted."

He looked at both of them to make certain they understood the message. The flopping of Dobby's ears as he nodded emphatically almost made him smile. They were at too serious a juncture for humour now, contrary to most of his life. He slowly moved forward until the fringes of the wards were about to touch him. He stopped and gestured them both back before slowly analysing the wards with his magic.

As soon as his magic touched the wards, he was recognized and he knew he could step through. However, he wanted more than that, they had to accept him as the Lord Black or they might have to leave with their tasks unfinished. He wasn't sure it was worth the risk of going in if Gringotts was wrong about his status after all.

He reached in and he felt the shift as the wards accepted him as their master. He'd heard Sami shift and his head snapped around to check on her but she hadn't moved forward, apparently she had only shifted slightly in nervousness. "it appears to be fine, the wards are accepting me as Lord Black so we can all go in. However, you must both take my hand and let me guide you in. My intent to allow you in will make certain the wards accept you two also."

They did just that and then they were on the walkway up to the front door. They had to brush past the overgrown hedge that had grown part way into the break for the walkway. They weren't carnivorous, fortunately, just thorny and not fond of being disturbed. Apparently, the Lord Black's presence was enough to make them quiescent while they passed and brushed some of the longest branches.

As they reached the door, he saw more clearly that the house was deteriorating, perhaps the house itself needed a Black there to keep it in liveable condition. If he were anyone else, he would now have to tap his wand to the door to be let in but he had none as yet, they had deferred getting him a wand until he was better. However, as the Lord Black, he only had to open the door, it would not deny him.

When he opened the door, scents hit him immediately and he regretted his enhanced senses in that moment. There was a smell of decay as if something had died long ago and it was overlaid by dust and dirt. The assault on his nose made him wince and have to suppress a sneeze, this was already a bad start and he hadn't even stepped inside yet. The creaking of the door just added to the ominous feeling of entering this decaying edifice.

As they walked inside, he heard Sami give a small noise of disgust while Dobby sneezed. Their quiet footsteps and the light creaking of the floor echoed in the seemingly empty house. With a wave of his hand, lamps on the wall suddenly began to give off light that quickly brightened to show them a dirty, deserted entrance hall.

They passed a decrepit old umbrella stand that seemed to be made of a troll's foot. As the hallway opened up into the front room, they could see more of the house. Some of the wallpaper was peeling from the walls and they kicked up a little dust as they walked. Sirius angled to the side to approach a large painting that was new to him and covered with moth-eaten drapes. He carefully parted them to see a sleeping portrait of his mother. He quickly let go of the curtains and stepped back and made a shushing motion to both of them. The last thing he needed was to awaken a portrait of his harpy of a mother, being back was bad enough as it was.

He glanced around, this certainly wasn't a good room for trying to call Kreacher, not if he wanted to avoid awakening a foul-mouthed portrait. He decided the kitchen was the best bet that was close. He led them down the stairs and lights lit for them automatically as they approached.

The air was even worse down here, smelling as if it had lain stagnant for decades rather than years. Once they were all in and the door was shut, he called out, "Kreacher!"

His ears barely caught a small sound from the cupboards. Either he had disturbed some vermin inhabiting the house or that hateful elf was trying to ignore him. "Kreacher! I order you to come before me now!"

He heard muttered curses coming from the cupboards so he knew the elf was still alive after all. That would make finding the house ring easier, if the damned old elf could be induced to cooperate. Sirius clenched his teeth as he promised himself not to put up with any of Kreacher's shite. He had enough to deal with as it was, he wouldn't tolerate a disobedient elf.

Suddenly, Kreacher appeared before him, looking old and as decrepit as the house itself and he even swayed slightly as if he was wasn't able to stand very well. He managed to croak out "Master" in a voice that might not have been used in months. He heard a small gasp from Sami and heard and saw Dobby shift into a defensive stance as he kept his hard eyes on Kreacher. Sirius, however, kept most of his focus on Kreacher as he continued to sway uncertainly in front of his master.

"Kreacher, bring me the house ring."

Kreacher responded by bending his head further down and muttering angrily and he began to sway even more. Sirius growled out, "Do it now, Kreacher or I will get an elf worthy of the House of Black!"

Kreacher was silenced immediately and slowly raised his head to give Sirius an incredulous look on his ugly face before he grimaced and suddenly popped away.

"Sirius?" Sami sounded very disturbed and uncertain and her hand was tentative on his arm. He turned to her and tried to be reassuring.

"I expected this. Kreacher doted on my mother and she never had any use for me. Like her, he preferred my brother Regulus so he'll be reluctant to obey me. I have to be firm with him or send him off, I can't allow a disloyal elf to remain in my household."

She took her hand back but nodded her understanding and remained silent as they waited. Sirius had to suppress a flinch when Kreacher reappeared. The elf seemed to be even more unsteady and Sirius began to wonder if he'd fall right over. Kreacher remained with his head down but slowly raised his hand and opened it to reveal the Black House ring. Sirius stared at it somewhat in wonder, he never thought that after he had run away from home that he would someday inherit that ring and all it represented. He had a solemn, fundamental responsibility to his family and he had to take up this mantle of leadership as there was nobody he could delegate this to. It was up to him to become the Lord Black and bring his house back from the brink of extinction.

He reached out to take it and he noticed his fingers trembling slightly when he grasped it and slowly put the ring on his right hand. He had to stifle his reaction when the ring reacted to his magic and he felt a frisson of family magic reaching through him, finding him worthy and strengthening him. At that same moment, Kreacher moaned and fell to the floor, which surprised him so much that he got down on one knee to look at the old elf. It was at that time that he also noticed Dobby looking at Kreacher with confusion plain on his solemn face.

He never thought he'd care about this elf but right now, this elf was part of his responsibility too. "Kreacher? Are you alright?"

Kreacher's mumble was barely perceptible even to Sirius' enhanced hearing. "Kreacher must now serve horrible blood traitor master. What would Mistress say?"

That did it! Sirius stood back up and towered over the elf still lying on the floor as his face formed a rictus of rage. "My mother is dead, you miserable excuse for an elf! You will serve me willingly or I will replace you! You will be cast from the Black family!"

That certainly got a reaction. The prostate elf forced himself upright and looked up at his master. "No! Kreacher is the Black elf! Kreacher will be the Black elf until Kreacher dies! Master should not dishonour Kreacher like this!" Kreacher then turned to glare at Dobby as if he was going to be the replacement.

Sirius glared down at the elf and put his fist with the Black house ring plain on his finger for Kreacher to see. "Choose now, Kreacher. You will not get a second chance!"

Kreacher slowly turned to look back up at Sirius and his face transformed into a look of grief as he nearly crumpled to the floor again. Slowly he straightened up and lifted his hand towards Sirius'. Sirius knew what the elf was going to do so he opened his hand and accepted Kreacher's hand into his.

The elf's croaking voice started out shaky but firmed up as he kept speaking. "Kreacher swears to serve the House of Black until Kreacher dies. Does Master Lord Black accept Kreacher's service?"

"I, Lord Black, accept Kreacher's service."

There was a flash of magic that engulfed Kreacher and briefly it seemed that only Sirius' hand kept the elf from falling to the floor again. Surprisingly, the elf looked rejuvenated as he straightened up to be taller than before and he even looked younger and cleaner. The elf looked at himself in wonder as if he couldn't believe what happened. He then mumbled distractedly, "Kreacher feels well again."

"You were dying, Kreacher. You cannot go on for too long without a master."

"Kreacher understands, Master. What are Master's orders?" The elf even bowed respectfully, which seemed incongruous to Sirius after all of the years of scorn he'd received from the elf previously. "You will restore this house to its former glory, removing all pests and cleaning everything up. Start with the kitchen, then the ground floor and start working your way up. Remember to eat and rest, I won't have you wearing yourself out, Kreacher. Also, move my mother's portrait to her sewing room. Do you still have access to the Black vault in Gringotts?"

Kreacher nodded, "Yes Master, Kreacher still feels the bond and Kreacher can access anything Master wishes Kreacher to access."

"Good. If you need any money, withdraw it from the family account. If you need to contact me, you know how to do it." He displayed the family ring to Kreacher again and the elf nodded in agreement.

"Good. For now, go get me one thousand galleons in a pouch and bring it back to me here. We will wait for your return."

Kreacher bowed again and as soon as he said, "Yes, Master," he popped away.

Sami had been so quiet that he turned to look at her and she looked to be deep in thought. When she noticed him looking at her, she blushed slightly and finally spoke. "I'd heard that elves had a symbiotic relationship with us but I'd never seen it for myself before. I always thought of them as slaves but they do benefit from their service."

She looked down at Dobby who looked back up at her. "Dobby is very happy to serve Master Harry even though Master Harry doesn't let Dobby call him Master. Master Harry is the best Master ever and Dobby will always be glad to serve Master Harry!"

Sirius saw her smiling down at the elf as she replied. "I'm happy for you, Dobby. I think you and Harry are good for each other and I'm glad you are happy."

Dobby puffed up his chest in pride and Sirius had to keep himself from chuckling at the sight. The elf was being serious so he wouldn't spoil the moment with his mirth. He also quite agreed with Sami, Dobby and Harry were good for each other.

She then looked at him again. "Sirius, I was surprised he was so hostile but even more surprised when he changed so much after you bonded. What happened?"

"It is part of the bond between the human and elf but it affects the elf more than the human. He will now feel that it is his duty to be respectful and obedient to me and he'd only return to his prior disdain if I abused him. The bond is very fresh now so he will be very solicitous towards me but it could fade with time if I allowed that to happen. If I were foolish enough to allow him to be disrespectful, he'd do anything he could to get around his bond to strike out at me and I can't allow that, it could be dangerous for me or any of my guests."

Their moment ended when Kreacher reappeared and lifted a pouch up towards Sirius. "Thank you, Kreacher. We'll go now but I will return from time to time to see how things are going."

Kreacher looked up at him as if in shock and it wasn't until they started to leave that he came out of it and answered, "Thank you, Master. Master is… good to Kreacher."

He turned to look back at the elf. "If you treat me well, then I will return that same care to you, Kreacher."

Kreacher looked a little dazed as he nodded back and then said, "Goodbye, Master."

"Goodbye, Kreacher." Sirius shook his head as they headed up the stairs on their way to the front door. This had been a somewhat surreal experience but he was finally on the path to becoming what his family needed. He would restore the Blacks to their former position as leaders in the magical world. He just wouldn't be leading them in quite the same direction as they used to go.

* * *

When Albus had gotten back from ICW business the previous day, a message from his friend Croaker had been waiting for him and he gladly accepted a short-notice meeting with his friend. Who knew what the old Unspeakable had discovered that he wished to share with him. He usually found their meetings stimulating and that was something he seemed to need more and more as he got older and more jaded. Something new to contemplate was just what he required.

He greeted his old friend jovially and was immediately put on alert by his cool and curt greeting. "Albus."

Not a light topic then, time to put him at ease. "Is something troubling you, old friend?"

"Yes but it is something that should be troubling you even more."

His old friend was giving him a hard look so this must be something his friend considered to be his own fault, but what? He thought back over the summer and couldn't think of anything that he'd done that might annoy his old friend. "And what might that be, Croaker?"

"The blood wards you put on a Muggle house."

That had been years ago, why on earth had that come up now? The ward stone might have been left in a Muggle area as he'd not thought to clean up after himself when the wards fell but it was buried and hidden from prying eyes. "What about them? The wards have fallen and the Muggles would never be able to find the ward stone."

That didn't go over well with Croaker as he glared back at Albus. "That isn't the issue, it's what they could have done to the Potter boy."

Now he was really drawing a blank, the wards protected Harry and he didn't see how they could have harmed him. "What do you mean? Has something happened to Harry? Do you know where he is?"

Croaker was giving him a very hard look. "Did you ever check up on the wards or the boy?!"

Ah. His friend was determined to take him to task so he might as well let him do so otherwise they might go back and forth like this for quite a while. "No, I did not for reasons that I considered valid at the time. Please enlighten me as to what I did wrong."

His friend gesticulated as he spoke and didn't ease up on his hostility one bit. "The wards never worked as you intended but you were too busy playing your games to be bothered to check on anything about the boy! I can tell that you intended the feeling of home and love to power the wards but neither was ever really there because of how those beasts he was saddled with for relatives treated him! I don't know details but I know enough that he suffered through dark times because of YOU and what YOU did! Now tell me, Albus, if the power didn't come from the intended source, where did it come from?"

Well that was harsh. He felt a little ire of his own growing but his concern was still with Harry, had he done something that harmed the boy somehow? In hindsight he should have checked on things, surreptitiously of course but there was no way for him to go back and fix that now. That was a good question though, if his intended power source was too weak, what would have been the next source in the chain? He ran through the rune strings he had used and began to blanch when he realized what would have been next in line. "The boy's protection, that would have been next in the chain... but his protection is still there! It saved him in his first year, it wasn't completely drained."

His friend's response was practically roared at him and made him sit back and he felt even more blood drain from his face. "No thanks to you!"

He was very afraid of the answer but he had to know, his voice was tremulous as he asked, "What happened?"

"Did you know about the soul shard?"

His heart seemed to stop momentarily as he realized that his recent speculations were proven correct. Oh dear heaven, please let the boy not be possessed by that monster's soul! "Is Harry alright?"

His friend roared at him again and again he sat back. "Answer the damn question!"

Apparently, he'd get nothing until he gave something. "I knew from the beginning that something was amiss in Harry's scar. I only had suspicions as to what it was until early this year."

Croaker's voice was quieter but no less intense. "When Harry Potter destroyed the Horcrux?"

This was very bad, this was not something he had wanted out where one of the Death Eaters could find out that they knew. One of the Death Eaters had been an Unspeakable, after all. However, Croaker was bright enough to know this so he just answered the question. "Yes."

His voice was still intense. "Yet you did nothing to protect the boy nor to warn me of the danger."

He hadn't been idle, he had to convince his friend he was not that heartless. "The more people who knew about the Horcrux, the more dangerous it would be. What could I do for the boy? I was researching exorcism rituals but nothing seemed to apply..."

"His mother's protection took care of it within weeks once your drain on it failed. The boy is free of that piece of Riddle's soul."

Suddenly, all of the pressure he had been feeling in his chest was released and he was ready to rejoice. What stopped him was the scowl still on his friend's face. "That is good news, is it not?"

Although he nodded agreement, his demeanour was still hostile. "Yes it is but still no thanks to you. Stay away from the boy, Albus. I'll be watching."

This was no idle threat. He had secrets but then so did his friend. Not only that, he had free access to all of the tricks devised in his department while Albus was only aware of what Croaker wanted him to be aware of. This was something he had to take seriously.

He tried to be conciliatory, to repair this breach between them. "I had already decided to take a step back, to observe rather than manipulate..."

Croaker was still angry and forcefully interrupted him. "Keep to that decision, Albus, or there will be trouble between us."

With that, his friend turned his back and left and Dumbledore felt quite alone.

He had been so sure of himself that he had never second-guessed nor checked up on his assumptions. Croaker was right and he bore all of the blame for these events. Albus could only remember one other time in his long life when he'd felt this inadequate and humbled. His sister Arianna had had to pay the price that time, he just hoped that nobody else would be harmed in this fiasco.

* * *

Daphne came out to the chairs by the servant's quarters and was surprised to see Harry alone. "They left already?"

Harry nodded distractedly but was still smiling at her. After a pause he said, "Sirius was anxious, he wanted to get there early. He told me to wait here where Dobby would know where to find me."

She nodded and sat in the chair next to him. She wanted to say something to distract him but wasn't coming up with any ideas right then so she was glad when he spoke up even though he surprised her.

"When I go, would you like to come with me?"

The answer 'of course!' came to her first and was almost past her lips before she wondered if she should intrude. "You don't have to invite me to be polite, I understand you'd want to get to know a friend of your parents, I don't want to be a distraction."

Harry gave her a puzzled look that morphed into a mischievous grin. "You may be a distraction but you're the kind I don't mind. I'd really like for you to be there with me but if you don't want to meet Remus until Hogwarts, I understand."

She couldn't let that slide as she replied with a grin of her own. "A good distraction, huh? I guess I can live with that. If you want me there, I'll ask my mother if it's OK."

Harry's voice was rather emphatic when he said, "I want you there."

"I'll ask my mother then."

"Ask me what?"

She nearly jumped in her chair and looked to see her mother just arriving from the direction of the Apparition point. "Harry would like me to go with him when he meets Mr. Lupin. Can I go?"

Her mother smirked at her and after cutting her eyes toward Harry she said, "That's fine. Have fun you two."

Daphne could have done without that knowing grin of her mother's, it was rather annoying.

* * *

After a quick tour of the property, Roxanne had left Sirius at the house alone, well not completely as Dobby was still lurking around there somewhere. He was aware of some wards on the property but didn't remark on them, he hadn't expected them to have an unprotected property but he knew they were intent-based wards and if Remus came through them unscathed, he would be greatly reassured about his loyalties. His impatience was costing him again though, he was early and had nothing to distract him except his own thoughts.

He glanced at the Black Family ring again, it had proven to be more valuable than he knew. Somehow it was imparting the knowledge of the Black Family magic to him so he now was aware of more of it than he had been taught previously. He could have sworn that he was hearing his grandfather's voice although there were other voices that he didn't know. Had this ring absorbed something from all of the previous Lords of Black? How much magic was in this ring? Would he ever learn all of the secrets of this ring?

He also hadn't known that the ring could function as a focus for his magical power in a pinch. It was harder to aim with the ring but he felt he'd get better with practice. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone though as he didn't want to seem like a threat to Cyrus. Becoming a security concern to his new ally would be poor repayment for his hospitality so he justified keeping the secret for that reason. He checked the time again and realized he still had at least 20 more minutes to wait, _fantastic_.

He started to think about Sami and especially that stressful conversation they'd had about her life since she had left her tour with the Aurors. He'd felt so sorry for her to have gone through all of that but that wasn't the only issue. Ever since that conversation his feelings seemed to be all over the place about her and most of them weren't appropriate for a patient to his healer. Getting the family ring just seemed to make it intensify for some reason. He was pondering whether the ring might be manipulating him somehow when he suddenly came alert, something had changed.

Then he heard it, someone was approaching and based on the sounds of the footsteps, he was pretty sure it was Moony. He was about to finally meet him after all these years and his heart rate went up. He was just trying to recover himself with Occlumency when he heard a knock on the door and he yelled to come in. He exited the sitting room and saw him enter and he had just turned to look at him.

Despite his elation at seeing Moony after all these years, he was also disappointed to see his condition. He looked older than he should and his robes were shabby, certainly not good enough to wear as a professor. He also had more scars than Sirius remembered, his transformations must have been rougher without anyone to help him and to distract his inner wolf. He abruptly became aware of the fact that they were still standing there staring at each other, that seemed awkward.

"It's good to see you again Moony." He could see the sadness increase in his friend's eyes, not the reaction he'd hoped for.

"Really? If I were you, I wouldn't be too thrilled with how I'd ignored you and believed the worst."

He had a point but he certainly had a lot of company. "You were hardly the only one, Moony," he said softly.

"I was the one who should have done the best he could. I was the only remaining Marauder as Wormtail gave up all claim to that title the moment he betrayed our friends. Nobody else that was left knew you as well as I did and I failed. I should have known that you wouldn't betray James and Lily…. I completely and utterly failed and I can never make up for that with you."

OK, he had been angry at first but that was a long time ago and the anger had died in Azkaban and he really wanted to fix this; he just wanted his friend back. "I didn't come here to listen to you condemning yourself, Moony. You did notice that I haven't done that, didn't you?"

He seemed a bit taken aback but persisted anyway. "You should."

Sirius heaved a sigh, Remus was determined to make this difficult. Fine, he can do this game of one-upmanship too. He fixed his friend with a steady gaze and started walking over to him, he saw a small flinch, which troubled him greatly but then his friend stood tall and waited; right up until the moment Sirius grabbed him in a bear hug and he felt his friend stiffen.

It took a few moments but his friend eventually huffed and then tried to return the hug as best he could. That was what Sirius was waiting for and what prompted him to finally let go. "So can we talk now or do you have more of the self-pity monologue to go?"

Remus gave him a long-suffering look and it almost made Sirius laugh but he suppressed it as they still had a serious discussion to have. He fixed him with a stare until Remus rolled his eyes and conceded, "Fine, we can talk."

"Good, there's a nice sitting room right back here."

He led the way back into the sitting room and chose one of the easy chairs, while Remus after a brief hesitation, chose one facing him. "Is this place yours?"

He shook his head and answered, "No, it belongs to a friend."

After regarding Sirius for a moment, Remus remarked, "You look better than I expected."

"A friend has been helping me recover and I've even been seeing a healer, trying to get my head back on straight. Apparently, my mental health hasn't been the greatest."

Remus looked guilty as he shrugged and muttered, "Twelve years in Azkaban."

"Apparently, it started before that, my childhood, losing Marlene…." He probably shouldn't have gone there, he was starting to dwell in the past and they had business to get done before he could waste any more time with that. Then he noticed it had an unfortunate effect on Moony too as he seemed to shrink in on himself.

"I should have tried to see you, fight for you, support you…."

Sirius cut across him. "Moony, enough. We have something serious to talk about, something we have to settle between us." He tried to fix his friend with a solemn look but it seemed to backfire as Remus began to look very remorseful again. He had to break this cycle and refocus their conversation.

"I'm not talking about the past now, I'm talking about now and the future. Remus, we have to talk about loyalty and about the Pup. Dumbledore has wronged our pup, Moony. We can't afford to trust him unless he earns it. There are secrets that have to be kept and I need to know if you will keep them."

That got his attention, Moony sat up and finally shed the remorse. "What do you mean? What did Dumbledore do to Harry?"

"Do you know where Dumbledore sent Harry to live when he was still a defenceless baby?"

Remus looked very alarmed now as he quietly asked, "No, where?"

He felt his anger come out again as he vented. "He sent him to Petunia and that great oaf of a husband of hers. You should have been there to see him talk about what they did! It's not so much what he said, but what he didn't say and how he acted. Remus, they abused him, they abused our pup and he sent him there and never checked on him. He abandoned the last Potter to Muggles who hate magic. How do you think that would go?"

Now Sirius could see the fire return to his friend's eyes and he could see a trace of the wolf in them too. Dumbledore should be thankful he wasn't here right now as it wouldn't be pretty with Remus' wolf coming to the fore. Remus' voice was low and dangerous as he practically hissed his response.

"How could he do that? _PETUNIA_? The sister who made Lily suffer for her jealousy, the sister that even Lily couldn't say anything good about? He sent him to that... that bint?!"

Sirius struggled to control his temper but he could still hear it in his voice. "He did and he also sealed the Potter will. The will that said I wasn't the secret keeper, the will that said Harry was never to go to Petunia."

Remus was becoming a little scary as he responded. "I'm going to go to Hogwarts and tell that idiot what he can do with his bloody job! Then I'll tell him that I'll kill him if he even looks funny at Harry ever again!"

Whoa! OK, it was time to calm him down as this was getting a little out of control, even for a vengeful as Sirius felt about this he didn't want his friend thrown into Azkaban. "Hang on there, Remus. That isn't the plan."

That got his friend's attention and brought a curious look to his face so he continued before they could digress. "My friend is on the board of governors, he can watch Dumbledore from that vantage point but it would be even better to have a professor there. Someone who can see Harry every day, someone to keep an eye on him. I'm counting on you to take that job because Harry will be going back to Hogwarts. He has friends there and get this Moony – our little pup who is about to begin his third year – he has a girlfriend and I tell you she is going to be a beauty. Our pup isn't going to be separated from her if he can help it. We need you there, Moony."

Sirius didn't bother hiding his smile, his friend now looked gobsmacked and things were, thankfully, now much calmer. Remus finally seemed to find his voice, "We?"

Sirius sighed, it was definitely time to get down to business and settle this. "Will you keep our secrets, Moony? Will you be there for Harry no matter what Dumbledore wants?"

Remus looked a little wounded. "I know I failed you Pads but I won't do that again. I will keep your secrets and I swear I will protect Harry. NOBODY will harm our cub again!"

Sirius couldn't help grinning. "That's the Remus Lupin I remember! Welcome back, Moony!" He couldn't stop himself, he got up to hug him again and Remus met him halfway. It was like they had started a squeezing contest but Sirius felt himself losing. Werewolves were strong even when they weren't transformed. He released his friend and luckily Remus let go just as quickly and Sirius managed to take a deep breath, while his friend looked a little sheepish.

Sirius waved it off and then turned his head a bit and said "Dobby!"

Dobby appeared in front of him, much to Remus' surprise and Sirius told the elf, "Go fetch Harry, Dobby. It's safe and it's time for him to meet Moony here."

Dobby gave Remus an appraising glance before saying, "Dobby will go get Master, Dogfather!" He then promptly popped away.

Remus gave him an amused look. "Dogfather?"

Sirius chuckled, "Long story. Dobby is Harry's elf and keeps calling me that but I don't mind. I kind of like it actually."

Remus snorted a laugh before responding. "You would."

Sirius gave his friend a look of mock affront. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

They ended up grinning at each other before Remus asked, "How did Harry get an elf? I thought the Potter elves went into shutdown with the manor?"

"They did. Harry nicked Dobby off of Lord Malfoy himself."

Remus looked gobsmacked again. "He what?"

"Isn't it great?! He might top us all by himself, Moony! He's a great prankster already, imagine what he could do with a little tutoring from us."

"I'll be a professor, Pads. I can't tutor him on how to behave badly!"

Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Merlin's saggy ball sack! What happened to you, Moony?! You're not a prefect anymore!" It wasn't until he saw Moony's 'gotcha' grin that he realized he'd been had.

"Git! You had me scared there, Moony. I thought you'd turned all pernickety on me."

"As a professor, I will need to make sure he isn't caught, I owe the cub that at least." The two men were grinning at each other when they were both surprised to see that Dobby had not returned with only one person but two.

Sirius recovered first and turned to Remus and said, "May I introduce the Heiress Daphne Greengrass." He then turned to Daphne and said, "Daphne, this is Mister Remus Lupin, soon to be your DADA professor."

It seemed to take Remus a moment to gather his wits or perhaps to remember his manners before he bowed and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Heiress Greengrass."

She curtsied and offered her hand as she said, "The pleasure is all mine, Professor Lupin."

Remus reached out to bow over her hand and that gave Sirius the opportunity to see that Harry looked a little uncertain so he decided to go formal and proceeded to continue the introductions. "Now I would like to introduce the Heir Harry James Potter, this is Remus Lupin, your future professor."

Harry proceeded to bow and say, "It is a pleasure to meet you Professor Lupin."

Remus bowed back and then offered his hand and a big smile so Harry shook his hand with a slight blush and a big smile. "It's been a long time, Harry. You won't remember me but you can call me Remus or Moony, either one. Oh, but not in class, you'd best go with Professor Lupin then."

Harry chuckled nervously as he said, "Thanks, err… Remus."

Remus then turned back to Daphne and said, "The same can go for you, if you'd like, Miss Greengrass."

Her smile brightened a little as she replied, "Only if you call me Daphne outside of class, Remus."

"Deal." He then looked at Harry and asked, "Girlfriend?"

Harry beamed and nodded his head enthusiastically. Remus turned to Sirius and said, "You weren't kidding."

As Sirius chuckled at his friend, he noticed that both of the teens were looking at him and Daphne's wasn't entirely friendly as she looked curious and concerned about what Remus might have meant.

"I told him that Harry was very lucky with the girlfriend he has."

Although Daphne turned a little pink, she also looked mollified so that moment was taken care of. He turned to Harry and said, "He has agreed to keep our secrets."

He then turned back to Remus and said, "I can now reveal that I have been helped by Roxanne and Cyrus Greengrass and they now have custody of Harry per the stipulations set out in the Potter will. Now, let's all sit down and we can talk about what we want to happen this next school year. We also have a lot to catch you up on, Moony."

* * *

They had decided to go to Diagon Alley first and that was fine with Harry, he rather liked being there as it still fascinated him and the shopping wasn't too dull with all of the magic around. The only thing that puzzled him was that he was going charmed to look like their cousin and for some reason both of the girls had found that rather hilarious but he hadn't gotten the chance to ask why before they left. They were now headed towards the Gringotts bank as their first stop but the Greengrass sisters were still hanging back and whispering to each other so he still was ignorant of what was so funny about his disguise. That left him with Roxanne but he preferred to ask Daphne what was so humorous.

The goblin clerk had their typical surly attitude until he was handed the key and suddenly he was 'Heir Potter' and a valued client. He quickly gave him the bottomless money bag that Roxanne had requested and even a Muggle credit card. The goblin even took the time to explain how to use both of them although Harry already had the gist of how to use a credit card, the only thing that was strange was to see his name on it.

Harry was still admiring the card when his girlfriend finally appeared next to him. It was about time so he looked over at her and asked, "What's so funny about how I look?" It must be a good answer as she giggled before she answered.

"It's not how you look, it's who you look like. Our cousin is a stupid git and we don't like him. You did notice that he didn't visit this summer, right? There's a reason for that."

Suddenly Astoria chimed in with a teasing tone. "Mainly it's because Daphne hexed him the last time he visited."

Daphne got a hint of pink in her cheeks and glowered at her sister as she quietly responded. "You really didn't need to mention that."

Astoria looked unaffected by her sister's expression and loftily said, "Of course I did, it was the best part of his whole visit. I only wish I'd gotten the chance to hex him too."

Daphne huffed, "Fine, you could have been grounded with me then."

Astoria's grin faded. "Well, OK, maybe not that part but the hexing was awesome." Her smile returned at the end.

Harry wondered that if their cousin was about their age, had he been unaware enough to miss the presence of another Greengrass at Hogwarts? "Does your cousin go to Hogwarts?"

Daphne rolled her eyes before replying. "No, thank Merlin. His mother is French and she says 'Beauxbatons is ze only real premier school of la magie in ze world.'"

Daphne's haughty impression of a French accent had Harry suppressing chuckles but Astoria wasn't quite as discreet, which earned them a few annoyed glances to Harry's discomfort.

Roxanne cleared her throat meaningfully and interrupted with, "Come on, we have a lot to get done today, we can't linger in the bank all morning."

As they began to walk towards the exit, Daphne whispered to Harry. "A lot of people know we don't like our cousin so while we're in the Alley, we can't be seen being chummy with you. Sorry."

She then dropped back with her sister and he felt a little abandoned even though Roxanne was still with him. At least he understood why now and personally he could understand why someone might not like their cousin as he'd hardly be pleased to see Dudley anytime soon.

He was puzzled when she led them up some steep stairs in a building he'd never been in before. It wasn't until he saw the small sign above the door that he realized what she was up to, the sign read 'Spectacular Spectacles'. It had been so long since he had his eyes checked he wasn't sure what it entailed but then he realized that had been a Muggle Optometrist and he had no clue of how they did it in the magical world.

The old man in the shop frowned as he inspected Harry's glasses and it seemed like he was tempted to throw them in the rubbish bin but put them aside instead. The initial exam involved casting spells at his eyes and he was feeling a little dazzled and irritated. Without his glasses, the room was a blurry mess to him and the colours of the spells made him wince, which seemed to irritate the old man in turn.

Fortunately, that part of the examination was over quickly and they were going through glasses and they were mainly similar to the ones that Dumbledore wore rather than the round glasses that Harry was accustomed to so he wasn't sure what to pick but went with ones that Daphne seemed to like.

After a little trial and error, they came up with a correction that made everything clearer than his vision had ever been. He was looking around in wonder, examining everything as he marvelled at the new clarity he was experiencing. He was brought back to the business at hand when the old man said, "They come with an unbreakable charm and are charmed to stay on your face until you remove them yourself. We have optional charms at an extra cost, they are impervious and see-through."

Impervious sounded good but what was see-through? See-through what? It wasn't until Daphne made an outraged sound and gave him a glare that he realized what that might mean. He was again distracted by a dry chuckle from the proprietor of the shop.

"That was a joke, I don't offer the see-through charm."

That earned the proprietor a glare from Daphne but that meant Harry was off the hook. Just to move things along he said, "I'll take the Impervious charm, thanks."

That didn't take the old man long and when he gave Harry the price, he repeated it, reached into his new bag from Gringotts and pulled out the exact amount. This new bag was so useful and Harry was so glad that Roxanne had thought of getting it for him.

He was about to turn to leave when the old man spoke again. "I imagine it must have been a long time since your eyes were checked. The correction on your glasses wasn't even close to being correct. I might have checked to see if I could correct your eyesight without spectacles but your eyes are too unstable from the poor correction. I trust you will return on a more regular basis and avoid the Muggle charlatans in the future."

Harry suppressed a frown at the derogatory reference to Muggles but considered the fact that it just might be his feeling that magical glasses were better than non-magical ones and based on the difference he was seeing now, he might have to agree. He went with a nod of acknowledgement along with a farewell and the whole group went through the door and down the stairs again.

The next stop was the trunk shop and he got a three-compartment trunk that he could lock and unlock with a touch of his wand and it also had built-in featherlight and shrinking charms. He found the enchantments very interesting and was disappointed that the shopkeeper couldn't answer any of his questions. After a quick stop to get more owl treats, they proceeded to Madam Malkin's to get new Hogwarts robes for all of them. He was amused when they made a little bit of a fuss over Astoria for it being her first time and especially that she seemed to enjoy the attention.

After a stop to restock on potions supplies, they headed to the same small restaurant that Cyrus had taken him to for lunch the day after his birthday. They had ordered and Harry was distracted and looking around again when he was startled to feel something sliding up his shin. He reflexively pulled his leg back slightly and before he could look under the table for what it was, he saw Daphne smiling at him coyly. It must have been her foot that he'd felt and suddenly he felt himself blushing as she smirked at him. Apparently. She was trying to make up for ignoring him in the Alley by messing with him now and in front of her mother too! Wait, her mother? He looked to the side and saw Roxanne with a hint of a smile and mirth sparkling in her eyes. Well, at least he wasn't the one instigating this but it was still embarrassing.

Hearing about Harrods and seeing it for yourself were two completely different things Harry decided. Even though it made him feel like a tourist, Harry couldn't help but gape at not only the outside but the inside as well. Naturally, Daphne had to act nonchalant and tease him about being so awestruck. On the other hand, he did notice her being nervous about all of the Muggles around and she kept near him, unlike in Diagon Alley.

To his chagrin, they decided to let him do his shopping first before they all went to look at swimwear. He really did need better clothes for their physical workouts, he was tired of using Dudley's hand-me-downs for that. He had a hard time hiding his reaction at Daphne's amusement when he chose some gym shorts. Just to make it worse, he also needed some underwear and she kept tagging along and he used a lot of Occlumency to not react to her smirk. Sometimes having a girlfriend wasn't easy.

He got a little uneasy as the clerk looked between him and his card and then went off to check on something. She was checking his card, no doubt, and he really hoped that Gringotts knew what they were doing on the Muggle side of banking. The clerk came back in a much more solicitous mood so his card had obviously passed inspection and then they were on the way towards swimwear and he realized with a sinking feeling that buying swim trunks was going to be a trial as well.

He found ones that suited him well enough and he was done as far as he was concerned, there was not going to be any trying on if he had anything to say about it. It wasn't until he saw Daphne and Astoria poring over their choices that he remembered something that Daphne had said to encourage him to come shopping with them. Was she really going to model a swimsuit for him? That was exciting and embarrassing all at the same time.

* * *

Daphne had made a game of embarrassing Harry as he shopped, it helped her to not think about all of the Muggles around them. She really couldn't understand why it didn't bother her sister or mother, they burned witches! She had read it in her books and the proof was irrefutable! Sure, they didn't know they were witches but what if they found out?

It wasn't until she was looking at bathing suits that she realized that her earlier teasing might backfire. She quickly checked on him and he seemed to have already chosen his trunks, boys were in such a hurry when they shopped so she was sure he had left some potentially better trunks untouched. Then she noticed that he was checking on her a bit nervously, what was going on? Then she remembered that foolish promise she had made to entice him into shopping; did he really expect her to model a suit? His nervous glances told her that he had remembered and that he did expect it.

With this in mind, she quickly discarded bikinis as an option. She wasn't sure she wanted to be that exposed with her boyfriend on a beach, much less in a store. She slowly accumulated a few one-piece suits to try, her sister had already gone off to try something on so she decided she had dithered long enough. She was not going to renege, she'd just have to find some courage to come out of the changing room wearing her suit.

The first one didn't pass muster, it had looked good on the rack but not so great on her. The second one wasn't bad at all, she really liked it. When she was considering going out for Harry to see while looking at herself in the mirror, she suddenly became aware of how it hugged her torso and made it painfully clear that she was only starting to develop up top. Compared to Pansy, who'd begun to flaunt her "assets" late last school year, Daphne didn't have much to brag about.

Gods! How could she have been such an idiot? Maybe some padding would help? She frantically searched what she had with her and there was nothing suitable for enhancing what she had. Her heart sank as she pictured going out there and Harry's disappointed look. Her hips had been coming in nicely, why hadn't her breasts followed suit? Then she thought about going back on her word and finally had to concede that would be worse. He'd see what she had – or rather didn't have – soon enough anyway, best to get it over with.

She called upon all of her expertise in Occlumency and firmly put on her ice-queen mask, she'd get through this, one way or another. She went out of the changing rooms with all of the grace she could muster and saw that her mother approved and even Astoria seemed to like it. Then she had to look for Harry and saw him staring at her, gobsmacked. He did not seem disappointed nor did he seem to be teasing, he was staring as if entranced. Really? Couldn't he tell she wasn't as well-endowed as she'd like? It certainly didn't look like it mattered to him and she found herself beginning to blush. OK, maybe this modelling thing wasn't so bad after all.


	9. Summer Goes Too Fast

Chapter 9 Summer Goes Too Fast

A/N: Something shown all in bold is written. Thanks to all who have read and especially reviewed and as usual, special thanks to my excellent beta Shygui.

Rejoice as summer should…chase away sorrows by living. – Melissa Marr

Roxanne had really been enjoying the show that her eldest was putting on. After staying away from her boyfriend in the alley, she had played footsie with her flustered boyfriend in the restaurant and teased him while he was shopping for clothing in Harrods. She was hoping that she'd get some comeuppance for the latter but then she saw all of the exchanged glances in the swimwear department and watched to see if Daphne kept her word. She was slightly surprised when she did and was impressed by how calm she was letting her boyfriend see her in her suit even if she was employing Occlumency to achieve it.

As good as it was to see their relationship continue to develop, she couldn't help but feel some of her husband's reluctance to give up their little girl. She'd been raising her for moments like this but it still signalled an ending, well maybe not so much an ending but a transition. She'd lose one thing but gain another, she had to continue to look at it that way.

She had barely been able to beat Harry to paying for their swimwear, she had given him a look indicating she was serious and he backed down with grace. When her girls indicated a desire to look at dresses, Harry pretended reluctance but she didn't miss his curiosity about what Daphne might model next. However, Daphne decided to make her mind up in the dressing room and save the reveal for later, much to her boyfriend's chagrin. Finally, after a flurry of last minute purchases it was time to get to the cinema and she got them moving so they would have time to get seats and perhaps some treats to munch on.

She paused at the entrance to see the big displays about this 'Jurassic Park' movie they were going to see. She remembered the gist of how to do things in the cinema from her visits with Lily but Harry still managed to beat her to paying for the tickets so she accepted that but then she beat him to paying for the treats at the counter, chosen by her girls in consultation with Harry. Again, Daphne was sticking very close to Harry and she could tell she was nervous about the Muggles. She wished that Daphne could understand that they weren't that different except for magic but Daphne resisted changing her views on Muggles.

When they entered the viewing room, she honoured her agreement with Daphne and they did not all sit together but she still sat with Astoria just two rows behind Daphne and Harry. She still had to be in a position to keep an eye on things no matter what her eldest might think.

Despite her best intentions to stay alert to her surroundings, she soon found herself lost in the movie. Harry's explanation about how Muggles knew so much about animals that had not existed for millennia was bad enough but his explanation about 'computers' and how they could recreate images of such beasts had completely baffled her. She hadn't known what to expect but she was astonished by what she was seeing.

She had fleeting awareness of Astoria's reactions at some tense moments in the movie but it wasn't until the two dinosaurs were stalking the children in the kitchen that she was brought out of it completely when Astoria clutched at her in fright. She began to wonder if she might need to remove Astoria from this situation but then noticed that no matter how many times she hid her eyes, she would then look again. She might be frightened by some scenes but she was also fascinated. She seemed to be coping well enough so she relaxed.

That is when she decided to check up on Daphne and Harry and she was disconcerted by her first impression. Was Daphne sitting in Harry's lap? She was trying to get a better angle to determine what was going on up there but then noticed that her contortions were drawing Astoria's attention to them too so she sat back and pretended to relax. She decided that Daphne was only drawing reassurance from Harry much like Astoria was doing with her and Daphne was still in her seat after all, if just barely. All of her attention was soon sucked back into the film.

* * *

After successfully paying for his own clothing, he tried to see if he could treat the others for the bathing suits but was gently rebuffed by Roxanne. He didn't push as he didn't want to seem to be taking over the payments for her daughters. For the same reason, he didn't try anything in the girls department but when they got to the cinema, he figured the tickets were fair game as Roxanne seemed distracted. He kept his grin minimal when he handed her a ticket but she took advantage of his distraction while explaining the snacks to Daphne and Astoria to pay for the treats. He figured he had come out even on that and he reminded himself that the Greengrasses didn't consider him a burden, unlike the Dursleys.

He was slightly surprised when they split up to take seats as they could have been seated together. The smug grin from Daphne told him that his girlfriend had arranged this in advance so he just went with it. She sat a little closer to him than would be considered normal and avoided looking around at the people waiting for the movie. She was entranced by the previews and the beginning of the movie so he just let himself get immersed in it himself.

He became aware of her again when things started getting tense with the dinosaurs. She practically seemed to be glued to him and seemed to need some reassurance. As nice as it was to be close to her, he was a little concerned about her fear but the fact that her eyes remained fixed on the screen reassured him she was still enjoying the experience. Frankly, this movie was more intense that he had been expecting, not that he was complaining, this was turning out to be his most entertaining outing ever and the movie was just totally brilliant!

Later, at dinner Cyrus seemed a little overwhelmed by everyone telling him about the film they'd seen while Sirius seemed like a child who was being told about some new candy. Harry had to suppress a laugh when Sirius exclaimed, "I have got to see that film! How about it, Harry? Want to go see it again?"

He actually wouldn't mind seeing it again but it wouldn't be the same for him without Daphne there and he was NOT going to go with the two of them, Sirius would not be able to resist teasing them. In fact, that suggested the way he should approach his response.

"It's a great date film, Sirius. You should take Sami."

He really had wanted to appear earnest and not show his amusement but when Sirius gasped and then started to cough, he just couldn't hold it in. In fact, everyone else at the table joined in and when Sirius recovered he looked a little embarrassed and defensive.

With a serious tone Sirius declared, "I don't see why I'd want to bring my healer to the cinema."

Harry responded with his most sarcastic tone, perfected with the unwitting aid of his girlfriend as he observed how she did it. "Is that what they're calling girlfriends these days?"

Sirius affected a wounded tone that wasn't fully convincing to Harry. "Fine, you could have just said you didn't want to go with me."

He was taking it wrong so it was time for him to be more serious. "I didn't mean that but I would prefer to go with my girlfriend. I'm sure Sami knows about the cinema and I really think she'd be glad to go with you. Think about it."

Sirius gave him a measured gaze but then said no more and returned to his meal. Harry felt a little bad when Sirius was quiet at first and Daphne tried to lighten his mood. Things became calmer when Roxanne continued to talk about the film and prodded Harry to explain what he knew of how it had been made. By the end of dinner, everyone seemed to be in a good mood again.

* * *

Sirius' thoughts had been in turmoil ever since dinner the previous night. Why had advice from a thirteen-year-old boy put him in such disarray? He's an adult dammit! He has to become the Lord of the Black Family and all that entailed and here he was going over and over things he shouldn't be thinking about.

Actually, he eventually would have to think about it but it should be something for the future, the distant future, not now. Sami was his healer and she had enough to do without him complicating things, it wouldn't be fair to either of them, right? Then why was he plagued with the urge to get closer to Sami? He glanced at his ring and was tempted to blame the magic in the ring but if he was truthful with himself, this started before the ring so he didn't have an easy scapegoat; this quandary was coming from him and him alone.

He'd had trouble getting to sleep and had overslept as a result. The arrival of his breakfast courtesy of Mipsy had wakened him and he felt like he'd been trying to catch up ever since. Even Sami arriving had caught him off guard – wait – Sami?

He looked up and saw Sami looking at him with an amused expression on her face. He couldn't even remember what they had been discussing, this was SO embarrassing! "Uhm, what were we talking about again?"

She chuckled and he felt his face heating up but he tried to focus as he had obviously been wasting her time; he had to be better than this.

"We might be better off discussing what is on your mind, it's obviously important."

Merlin! That was the exact last thing he wanted to talk to her about! "It's really not that important…." He drifted to a stop as he was obviously not fooling her at all, her look at him made that clear. OK, maybe she had a point but this wasn't a good time and they had more important things to talk about. He'd tell her what had happened then they could laugh it off and get back to making him better.

"Harry and the Greengrass women went shopping and while they were out in the Muggle world, they went to the Cinema and saw a moving picture called 'Jurassic Park' or something like that. It's about dinosaurs and it sounded like something I would like to see too but when I suggested we go together, he said it's a great date movie. He said I should take a woman to see it instead." He carefully schooled his face as he had chickened out and not brought up her name at all, he really needed to grow a pair. Then he noticed that she seemed to be controlling her reaction as well, what was going on?

She cleared her throat before speaking but otherwise she seemed quite stoic. "Well, we did an outing to see your family home, I suppose we could do this too; you really should get out in the world and it would be safe after a couple of glamours on you. I'm fairly sure I've heard of that film, it's quite popular I believe."

She wanted to go? He hadn't expected that but he really did want to see the film and he really wouldn't mind going with her so he couldn't see a downside for this. "Well, that's good then. Sounds like a plan." Ugh. Real smooth there Casanova, way to sweep a bird off her feet. He used to have a lot more game than this, maybe he was a bigger mess than he had realized. On the other hand, the point now wasn't to sweep her off her feet so he should just drop this line of thought altogether.

* * *

She had deliberately Apparated them a few blocks from their destination just to evaluate his reaction to a heavily urban Muggle neighbourhood. She doubted that he'd had much chance to acclimate to this environment given what she knew of his history so it would be ideal for evaluating his anxiety level. To her surprise, his main reaction was curiosity, with no signs of nervousness. She had seen his signs of improvement but this was totally unexpected. She'd been wondering about the influence of his family ring on him and those thoughts came back to her as she considered his sudden improvement.

Things had progressed so well with the Muggle side of her training that she had barely used the magical side. First, she only used Legilimency as a last resort due to the invasive nature of it but she had never considered it with Sirius. She would have felt awkward about it with him plus he'd been so open in their discussions that the issues were out there for them both to see. The need for Legilimency or even Rapport had never been there but she had worked on Occlumency with him. He'd already had some training so that went quickly and productively.

Close encounters with distracted Muggles, honking horns and even squealing tires all just elicited no reaction at all or merely mild curiosity. This just didn't make sense to her given her Muggle training in Psychology but she knew that wizards and witches differed due to their magic so it wasn't shocking. That left magic as the cause and the primary suspect was that ring. She was glad that he was improving, she really was but she couldn't also help but think that their time together might be coming near to an end, at least as patient and healer.

She wanted to continue their association and she had no reason to doubt that he'd agree with her desire to continue as he seemed to enjoy his time with her when it wasn't too stressful. The thing is, neither of them had ever raised that subject and she hadn't worried as she'd felt there was plenty of time for that later. However, that no longer seemed to be the case and she wondered if she should bring it up. What gave her pause is that hardly seemed to be ethical given their current healer/patient relationship, it almost felt like she'd be taking advantage of the situation.

As his health and therefore appearance improved, he was regaining his roguish good looks and she noticed the glances that a few Muggle women were giving him although Sirius seemed oblivious to them. As if that wasn't enough, he was rich or at least his family had had that reputation. His casual withdrawal of a thousand galleons and open-ended orders to his elf to fix the place up certainly indicated no concerns about money. He was also the Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House but more than that, his family was renowned for their power and leadership in the magical society as a whole. She realized that she was walking next to, theoretically at least, one of the most powerful men in the magical world of Britain.

It made her feel rather insignificant in comparison; she had little money or fame and her office in the basement of St. Mungo's accurately depicted the amount of power she held. Compared to Sirius, she was a nobody and not really worthy of his attention. She tried to shake off those depressing thoughts and concentrate on Sirius and their outing, she'd consider the matter again later.

His curiosity extended to the Muggle currency she used to buy their tickets. As she was gathering their drinks, a candy Sirius had been curious about and a large popcorn, he gave the popcorn a suspicious look as he grabbed the drinks and she felt a subtle movement in her pocket nearest Sirius. She gave him a questioning look but he just shrugged and smiled at her without saying a word as they ambled forward to look for seats. She knew he was up to something but she'd wait until they were seated to investigate.

She went near to the front for Sirius to get the maximum impact from the film and as they settled into their seats, she tried to subtly feel in her pocket and was surprised to find what felt like galleons. She gave him an annoyed look but he leaned over and whispered, "You've been doing a lot for me, let me treat you."

What she had felt was way more than what she had just spent and she was inclined to push back but another thought came to her. She saw this as an outing as part of his recovery, or at least that was what she had been telling herself, but did he see it as something else? Was this… a date? She was so flustered that the moment passed and they merely exchanged his candy for her drink as her mind continued to race.

She was amused and distracted as he enjoyed his candy and shared a sample with her. At this rate, he'd be out of his treat before the previews started but at least they had plenty of popcorn. Just before the previews started, he ate the last of his candy and amusingly peered into the box as if he might somehow find more. He looked over his shoulder as if pondering a return to the counter up front when the lights dimmed and he was distracted by what appeared on the screen in front of him. He was so much like a boy that she had to hide her grin, the fact that a man from such a prominent family could be such a boy amused her.

She noticed him glancing at the popcorn she was enjoying during a preview for film that didn't appeal to either of them. She offered the container to him and after a sceptical look, he finally took one kernel of corn. She had to work hard to suppress a snort of laughter, it was another example of the little boy in him to be so suspicious of a food he was unfamiliar with. She didn't hide the smirk when his face brightened and he then took a handful. He noted her reaction and gave her a sheepish look. He was such a boy.

They quickly became engrossed in the movie and it wasn't until the film characters were about to leave the island that she realized that she was leaning on Sirius. She did her best to control her reaction, she hadn't done this consciously but didn't want to seem to reject him by pulling away. She was still pondering what to do when Sirius shifted and she took the opportunity to sit up but she felt the loss of contact more than she had expected.

She tried to watch his reaction, if any, but his demeanour was very controlled and she had noted his greater proficiency and use of Occlumency already. He was giving her no hint of his reaction and she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't interested in her, there was too many reasons for him to avoid a more personal relationship with her.

* * *

Roxanne was amused by all of the last minute preparations for their departure. The girls were ecstatic and excited while Harry was more reserved and still a little uncertain. The most amusing reaction was Sirius' though as he cycled between quiet and enthusiastic himself, one might think he'd never been to the beach before. They had waited until his session with Sami was done so they could all leave together but she hadn't bothered with a class that morning, all of the children were just too distracted for it to be productive. She still had things to cover before they left though so they'd have to give up some of their free time before they left for Hogwarts.

Mipsy and Dobby transported their belongings for them so they only had to floo themselves through the private connection between their manor and the beach house. As usual, Harry took a spill and although the girls were amused but they didn't laugh and Daphne had moved quickly to help him up.

She was surprised to see that Sirius moved through smoothly and made a mental note to suggest that he give pointers to Harry. She saw that it was a sunny day and the wind wasn't too strong so it was a good time to head to the beach and that proclamation raised cheers all around although again, Harry's reaction was more modest than the rest of them.

* * *

Harry perused his reflected image in the mirror. He wasn't as small or scrawny anymore, in fact he could see some muscle definition, that was all to the good. What wasn't so good is that he looked as pale as a ghost so he might blind them with the reflected sunlight from him! The only cure for that though was to get some sun; he just wished he could do that privately before baring his pallor to the world. Well, not so much the world but his girlfriend as he knew she'd look gorgeous in her swimsuit but she probably would have to shade her eyes to look at him.

If there was a spell for this, he didn't know it so the only way forward is to hope for the best and get out his room before she wondered what was wrong. He grabbed his towel and made his way out towards the beach. He saw Astoria and Roxanne first; they seemed to be sunning themselves on lounge chairs. His eyes widened when he saw Roxanne, she looked incredible and Daphne took after her but then he averted his eyes quickly. She was like a mother to him and he shouldn't be looking at her like that but on the plus side, it gave him something to consider for how Daphne might look all grown up and it was a very enticing picture.

Then he stopped in his tracks when he not only saw her but heard Daphne as well. Sirius was with her as Padfoot and although he looked playful, she was having none of it. "I swear to you, lord or not, if you slobber on me I will get my wand and hex you so bad you'll be in bed for a week!"

Padfoot whined and tried to look pitiful but he wasn't fooling Daphne. "I mean it! You stay away from me!" She was even shaking her finger at the large dog and that made Harry laugh, which attracted her attention. She narrowed her eyes at him and demanded, "Think that's funny, Potter?"

Potter? Uh-oh, maybe he was in trouble now?

She turned back to the dog who was now looking at Harry and said, "If you want to slobber on someone, there's your godson, have fun!"

Wait! What? His girlfriend was throwing him under the bus? All he did was laugh…. Oh, he did not like that big grin on the dog and then suddenly Padfoot was running full tilt towards him! With his new glasses, he could not only see the evil grin on his girlfriend's face, he could see the drool dripping off the large tongue that was headed his way. If Padfoot was really just a dog, this wouldn't be so bad but that was his godfather! He wouldn't really… on second thought, he would and he'd enjoy it too.

The dog was coming fast and he was an imposingly big one too. This was not going to end well but Harry thought fast and came up with a plan. He pretended to brace for impact as he dropped his towel but just as the dog launched himself at Harry, he quickly stepped aside and all the dog could do is give him a startled look as he sailed past Harry.

Harry wasn't foolish enough to think this was over so he ran as quickly as he could directly at Daphne. He grinned as her smirk left her face and surprise and the some trepidation entered her visage. Her voice quavered slightly when she asked, "Harry?"

She didn't sound so smug now and his grin became bigger. Daphne's voice became a bit firmer as she spoke again. "Harry? What are you doing?"

Harry was distracted as he could now hear the dog had recovered and was running behind him and the sounds were coming closer. He knew he couldn't outrun Padfoot for long so he put all of his effort into running as fast as he could, it was his only chance for his plan to work. At the same time, Daphne was reacting too as she put her hands out as if to ward him off and started to back away from him.

"Harry! Don't you dare!" She was trying to sound intimidating but he could tell from her tone of voice that she wasn't sure of herself. A hint of alarm came to her face as he came closer and she was starting to turn to run herself but she was too late. On the other hand, Padfoot seemed to be right on his heels and this was going to be a near thing. A new complication came to the fore as he realized they were starting to enter the ocean, he was now running in a couple of inches of water and it was about to become deeper as a wave was approaching.

Everything seemed to happen at once, he had gotten as close to her as he dared before veering off and the wave and the dog hit him at the same time. Between the two of them, he had no chance to keep his balance and went face first into a maelstrom of sea water and sand. He should have known that the same trick wouldn't work twice as Padfoot may look like a dog but he had a human intelligence so he hadn't fooled Sirius into running into Daphne and Padfoot had gotten his intended target.

He was trying to struggle into a sitting position to clear his face of water when a big tongue slid up one of his cheeks. He grabbed for his glasses to keep them on his face as he tried to move away from the tongue at the same time. His glasses had remained firmly in place and he suddenly remembered that they were charmed to do that, which was reassuring. However, that was no help at all when a large dog – his godfather! - was keeping him down and was licking him wherever he could. Gross!

He did manage to get to one knee but the dog was relentless and he had to use both hands to keep him off of himself. He heard Daphne's tinkling laughter and realized that his glasses were still clear despite his recent plunge and he could see her laughing and pointing at him. So, she was enjoying his plight, was she? It was time to turn the tables!

He held the dog back with a double handful of loose skin and fur and said, "Excuse me, Padfoot. I have business to take care of with my girlfriend."

The dog managed to look startled but then it grinned and pulled away as if to watch. Harry stood and looked towards Daphne who quickly dropped her amusement and looked uncertain. "Harry?" Her voice had sounded very hesitant, good. His grin became bigger as he took a step towards her and she brought up her hands again and tried to sound firm. "Harry, don't!"

He accelerated towards her and she dropped all pretence of being able to stop him as she shrieked and turned away to run. She had no chance as he was on her before she could get up to speed and he tackled her down to the beach but not as gracefully as he'd hoped. The footing wasn't great and she was moving too but he did his best to control her descent and they ended up in a tangle in a few inches of water but fortunately, no wave as of yet.

She was giggling so he knew she wasn't truly worried or afraid and then he noticed that both Roxanne and Astoria were sitting up and watching. They were both amused but Astoria seemed to be enjoying it more than her mother as Roxanne seemed a bit more reflective. His attention was brought back to Daphne as she looked at him with a smile and asked, "Truce?"

Harry was just starting to nod affirmation when a wave hit them and they both started to laugh and splutter. Padfoot was barking and bounding around them, he seemed to be having the most fun of all of them.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore had just finished reading Filch's annual, rambling demands for the reinstatement of corporal punishment in Hogwarts when he was surprised that his floo flared to life and he heard a familiar voice. "Albus? Are you there?"

He answered quickly, "Yes!" and flicked his wand to bring the image from the fireplace up to in front of him over his desk to spare his old bones from getting up and going over to try to speak to her directly. He was then able to confirm his guess as to who it was as he greeted her. "Good afternoon, Arabella. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I have news about the Dursleys, I wasn't sure if you would be interested since Harry isn't there but it was quite shocking news."

He suppressed a frown as he wondered what in the world was happening now. "I am indeed interested, please continue."

"Mr. Dursley was arrested today but I'm not certain what for. I have asked around and heard two different rumours but I know one is incorrect. One of the rumours was that it had to do with the disappearance of Harry, the neighbours have noticed his absence this summer but we know that isn't true, you said Harry left of his own accord. The other rumour is that he was caught doing something wrong at his work but opinions vary as to what it was."

"I see." Albus contemplated that development but after the way they must have treated their nephew, it wasn't shocking that they would get into some other sort of malfeasance. He was brought out of his musings at Arabella's hesitant question.

"I was just wondering, is there any chance that Harry will be returning here?"

He wondered why she asked but decided to satisfy her curiosity first. "Since we last talked, it has become clearer to me that he will not be returning. Why do you ask?"

"I was just hoping that I could live somewhere... quieter."

Ah, despite her reticence her desire to move was evident. "Some cottage in a village, perhaps?"

She looked quite hopeful. "Exactly."

"I shall see what I can arrange and I thank for your years of trying to watch out for young Mr. Potter. You have earned your chance to retire but in the meantime if there are further developments I would appreciate being alerted to them."

"Of course, Albus. It was my pleasure to help you out."

"Goodbye for now, Arabella."

"Goodbye, Albus"

He broke the connection and sat back to wonder about the timing of this, soon after Harry abandoned the household to stay with people who might seek vengeance for his previous treatment. He briefly considered a surreptitious investigation but decided the possibility of him being framed for something was very unlikely; if they were involved it would be simpler to have him found out for something he actually did.

He concluded that it was best to leave the Muggles to their own business and for once to let things proceed as they will without his interference. He had a feeling he'd have to become accustomed to doing that in the future. He was also not looking forward to an upcoming meeting with the new chairman of the board of governors.

* * *

The next morning was overcast and cooler so Harry had no objection to spending the morning learning as had become his habit this summer. However, Astoria was not happy about the history assignment she'd been given; Daphne, however, seemed very interested in what her mother had said would be an Arithmancy lesson. Harry was surprised when she approached with his mother's Arithmancy notebook and was very curious as to what she might reveal, had she figured it out?

He was disappointed at first that she was only going to go over what his mother had figured out and there was no breakthrough on overcoming this initial challenge of the Peverell Grimoire. Even though theory was not normally his strong suit, he was fascinated to follow the technical details and logic that his mother had used to get to where she had left her investigation.

Although he knew he would not be capable of doing what she had done at this time, it all made sense to him and he had followed along with all of it and learned a lot. Although Daphne's questions sometimes helped him, he felt that he could have answered some of them himself based on what he had learned that day.

It shocked him a bit that he was grasping this more quickly than his girlfriend but he knew that she was intelligent and most likely she'd be better at some things than he was and vice versa. Also, there was a tiny bit of him that was proud he was following in his mother's footsteps and he hoped one day that he could accomplish what she had but that was setting the bar high based on what he'd heard from others, especially McGonagall and Flitwick, and what he had seen in her journals. His mother had been an exceptional witch, perhaps akin to the 'Hermione' of her generation. He looked over at his girlfriend as she was pondering and thought that she was an exceptional witch as well, he'd do well to always remember that.

Once all of their questions were answered, Roxanne told them that they would close with a bit of news. Harry was puzzled when she presented them with a small newspaper clipping, especially since it was obviously from a Muggle newspaper. The importance of the news soon became clear as he and Daphne read the small article together.

 **Little Whinging, Surrey**

 **The residents of this peaceful neighbourhood were surprised to witness a police raid on the home of one of their neighbours, one Vernon Dursley. Police were reluctant to release details regarding the arrest but they soon became available at the arraignment of Mr. Dursley. Mr. Dursley is a director at Grunnings Drills Pty Ltd, and has been charged with embezzlement of company funds. Not all of the details were released but based on some information in the indictment, it appeared that Mr. Dursley had a co-conspirator who may have cooperated with authorities in the investigation of Mr. Dursley.**

 **Due to the perceived flight risk posed by Mr. Dursley and the amount of money he'd taken the judge acceded to the prosecutor's demand for a high bail, Mr. Dursley loudly and profanely declared the fact to everyone in the court that he would be unable to pay that sum and was remanded into custody, His barrister somehow managed to keep him from being found in contempt of court and further charged, which the magistrate threatened to do several times, such was the ire of Mr. Dursley. His trial promises to be entertaining so we will attempt to follow it as much as possible.**

Despite what he had learned a few weeks ago, this was still a surprise to Harry but his uncle's behaviour was typical. His uncle was now in jail and although it was not directly due to him, it was partially a reprisal for his treatment of him, his nephew. He felt a little odd about this but reminded himself that his uncle had done this crime he was charged with and he just had to let justice be done. He glanced at Daphne when she had remained silent so he gave her a smile that made her smile back. He'd be fine and he swore to himself that he wouldn't brood; he was done with that especially for such a waste of space like his uncle.

* * *

Cyrus stared out the window as the weather became worse; it appeared their second day at the beach house would not be a pleasant one. He had done a little administrative work while the rest were busy with their studies but he eventually had to get out and be around his family, even if they were busy.

It was also getting close to lunchtime so he might relieve his wife of having to get Sirius for once as he'd be free soon. He again wondered why Sirius had chosen to stay alone at the manor but he suspected it was to give his family space. He also seemed to be preparing himself to live on his own and concentrate on his new role as the Lord Black and that was something Cyrus could well understand. Assuming this role was a big commitment and didn't allow for distractions or at least not at first. Later, distractions were quite welcome, not that he considered his family a distraction as they were precious to him, even the recent addition who was likely to someday be his son-in-bond.

He felt the notification from his wards that Sami had left so it was time. He nodded to his wife who appeared to have just shared the newspaper clipping with Harry and Daphne and he wondered if anyone had told Sirius yet. He could take care of that task as well when he brought Sirius back to the beach house.

He flooed to the manor and when he emerged outside he was pleased to see that the weather was better here although it was still overcast. He first saw Sirius as he sat in contemplation in one of the outside chairs. Perhaps a short chat here was in order so he sat down beside the pensive Lord Black, which finally brought the man back to the present.

He got a small smirk from Sirius before he asked, "Hello Cyrus. Did you draw the short straw to come get me today?"

Cyrus smiled back and countered with, "I actually volunteered believe it or not. Before we leave, I wondered if you'd heard the news about Harry's Uncle."

Sirius' smile increased but turned colder before he asked, "Finally been arrested then?"

"Indeed he was, yesterday morning apparently."

Sirius took on a more contented look. "Good, he deserves whatever they give him, probably more."

"I think we can both agree that Roxanne will not let him off lightly. I was a little surprised that she let the Muggle authorities have first crack at him."

Sirius' smile was cold yet satisfied as he agreed. "Roxy won't let him off easily, I know that and that is why I let her planned revenge proceed. There probably won't be much left of him when she's done." Then his visage took a more teasing look as he regarded Cyrus. "I assume you knew you what you were getting into when you married her."

It was Cyrus' turn to bark out a laugh this time. "I did and I made a mistake last year that nearly cost me a hexing; I have been much more careful to stay in her good books since then."

Sirius gave him a teasing look. "Pleasing our witches keeps wizards busy and probably out of some trouble."

He wanted to tease? Fine, two can play that game. "So who is going to be the witch you have to please?"

When he saw Sirius' face lose all amusement and indeed any indication of emotion at all so he realized he may have accidently overshot his mark. "I sometimes wonder if that is in my future or not. I'm not sure any witch would want me after everything I've been through."

Was he really that unaware? "I think we both know one witch who is interested."

Sirius remained quiet and looked away so Cyrus couldn't really tell how he might be taking his response. He gave him a while to see if he'd answer but it slowly became obvious no response would be coming anytime soon. He decided to see if there was something else that Sirius wanted to bring up. "What were you thinking so hard about when I arrived?" Cyrus was relieved to see him turn back with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I've been thinking ahead. Once I officially take my position as head of my family, one of my first duties will be to designate my heir as I'll be damned if I let that prat that Lucius and Narcissa managed to raise be my heir. I've heard plenty about how he is from Harry and Daphne, he's as big of a git as his father and will hopefully join him in Azkaban someday."

Cyrus tried to picture who the heir might be but his knowledge of the remaining Blacks was spotty other than his three female cousins. "Who might that be?"

He finally saw some amusement in Sirius' face again. "Harry."

Harry? But Harry wasn't a Black – but wait – wasn't his great-grandmother…? "Dorea Black! I had forgotten that connection! Your grandfather's sister, correct?"

Cyrus saw amusement dancing in Sirius' eyes as he responded, "Exactly!"

It made sense but Cyrus hoped that was temporary as Harry had quite enough to be getting on with, the political responsibilities would be immense. The Lord Black was a central figure in wizarding England politics, a real force in their whole culture, it was a heavy burden. He tried to keep his voice even as he asked, "Does Harry know?"

"No and I don't want to tell him yet. I do want to prepare him though, there are things he would have to know right away. I was hoping to talk to him today, probably with you as well. You are more current with the present political climate than I am. Between the two of us, I am sure we can cover everything we need to cover."

Cyrus still felt a little dubious but agreed the timing for a talk was probably good. "The weather on the coast isn't so good today and they won't be on the beach so Harry would be available for a talk today."

A slight frown formed on Sirius' face. "You disapprove?"

Ah, he caught that so the Lord Black was indeed astute, that was good. "Not disapprove, exactly. I was hoping that Harry being heir was temporary as he has quite enough to deal with already."

Sirius thought for a moment before he replied. "I agree but I'm not sure as I'm no seer. I would hope to have a Lady Black someday and to produce my own heir but I can't let things wait until then, the succession is too critical."

"I absolutely agree on that part."

"Good, so we can talk to Harry?"

"Certainly, shall we go?"

Sirius' smile seemed genuine as he gestured towards the manor and said, "Lead the way!"

* * *

They made short work of getting him through the wards and they flooed back to the beach house in time to join everyone else for lunch. Harry did not seem distracted to Sirius as he greeted his godfather and lunch was a pleasant affair. When Sirius suggested a private discussion between the three of them, he saw Harry exchange a glance with Daphne and she looked at her father as if expecting to be invited. However, they may have to speak quite frankly with Harry about some matters that were not Daphne's concern so her father subtly shook his head no and her look turned quickly to discontent.

Roxanne diverted the attention of their girls as the men headed for Cyrus' den in the beach house. It wasn't as big as the one in their manor but it was just as well warded, which was important for this conversation. As the other two sought chairs, Cyrus brought his chair from behind his desk so they could sit more as equals in this discussion. He pointedly looked to Sirius to start the conversation so Harry did the same.

Seeing their attention, Sirius sighed and gathered his thoughts then he looked at Harry and began. "The Blacks are a prominent family in England and even though there hasn't been a recognized Lord Black in a while, that hasn't changed. I'm going to have more attention than I care for and a lot of politics to be involved in as soon as I'm cleared about what happened to your parents and with Wormtail. Some of that attention could fall on you too."

Harry's face was clearly asking the question 'why?' so Sirius grinned and continued. "You're a Black too, didn't you know that?"

Harry looked like he had just told him he was a girl instead of a boy and Sirius couldn't help but chuckle. Then Harry looked over at Cyrus in surprise and asked, "My great-grandmother?"

Cyrus nodded and Harry turned back to Sirius and asked, "So I'm both a Potter and a Black?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes. Normally, you wouldn't be close to being the heir of Black since your link is three generations back and through a woman instead of a man. However, the Blacks have taken a lot of losses lately and because of that I'm the last male Black.

That means the lines through women become more meaningful and by the way, that includes one of your favourite classmates, Draco Malfoy." Harry's eyes were becoming bigger as he spoke. "When I am cleared and go public as Lord Black, some people may try to curry favour with me through you. It may be because they are aware we are distant cousins but it also could simply be the fact that they would know that I am your godfather. Do you understand how that could impact you?"

Harry huffed and closed his eyes before opening them again to look at Sirius. "Fantastic. I can just tell them to shove off though, right?"

Sirius chuckled before answering. "I would hope you would be a little more diplomatic than that but yes, you can refuse to be their conduit to me."

Harry shrugged and then said, "OK."

Sirius hid a grin because he knew there was more that Harry didn't realize yet. "Back on the subject of heirs, you are, of course, the sole heir for the Potter family. As such, you will be a prominent member of our society and a future lord of a Noble and Most Ancient house in your own right. For certain girls, you will be a very attractive target for matrimony and that will probably only increase as soon as they realize your link to me. You, Harry, are about to become very popular with the girls."

Harry's eyes grew again and he looked like he might break and run at any moment. Sirius wanted to reassure his godson, "Harry, this isn't really a bad thing, a lot of blokes your age – well, maybe a little older – would love to be in your shoes. I would just advise you to be careful. Don't sign anything unless you clear it with an adult, preferably Cyrus or I, and if you have any doubt about the girl at all, do **not** eat or drink anything she gives you."

Harry dropped his head into his hands and Sirius overheard a mumbled 'Bloody hell' from his godson. That was too much to resist and he chuckled, which earned him an annoyed look from his godson before Harry sighed and looked down in dejection.

"Why can't I just be a normal kid?"

Sirius lost all of his mirth and spoke earnestly to his godson. "Harry, you have never been just some kid. You were born to be the Heir of Potter and that alone made you special from as soon as you were born. All of this nonsense about the 'boy who lived' is just something you will have to endure until you make your own mark in this world. I know you will do that someday because the son of James and Lily would never be ordinary. Face it Harry, you were born for great things."

Harry's initial expression was disbelief when he looked at his godfather but slowly it morphed to pensive before he straightened up and looked back at him with newfound confidence. "Daphne has taught me the value of being the best you can be so yes, I do want to make my own mark in this world. I also understand your point about my birth right, I've been trying to come to terms with that in my talks with Cyrus and now you too. I will do the best with what I am given and I hope that I can someday follow in the footsteps of the previous Lords Potter and help lead this world with you both. I really appreciate you alerting me to these issues and I will also appreciate any help you can give me. Is there anything else I need to know?"

Sirius felt a proud smile growing on his face as he listened to Harry. After a rough start, he had really risen to the challenge he faced and he couldn't be prouder of his godson. He also resolved not to underestimate the influence of Daphne, and her father for that matter, on the Heir Potter. He really did feel that the future was bright for his godson, he just had that beast of a dark lord looming; they really had to conquer that issue somehow.

For now, there were some more immediate issues to cover. "There are some Black family issues that you should be aware of. Our reputation with some families, like the Bones family for example, that don't think highly of the Blacks. However, Bones shouldn't be an issue as the current acting head is someone I worked with and she has indicated to Cyrus that she personally has doubts about my guilt. There are other families that won't like us though but that will hopefully only be a minor issue."

Harry was giving him his full attention so he continued on in an informative manner. "The Blacks were not big on alliances, generally we preferred to keep any associations with other families brief and to play them against each other and that is one of the reasons some won't trust us. There was one exception to this rule though as we have a loose but long-standing alliance with the Selwyn family. Be careful of them though as they are dark and likely to agree with Voldemort regarding blood status and although they aren't as rich as the Blacks, they are a prominent, influential family. Despite their dark tendencies, they may see your association with me as a sign that you might be an ally, as strange as that might seem to you. Do you know of a Selwyn at Hogwarts?"

Harry had started looking unsettled but shook his head 'no' in response to his question. He then looked at Cyrus and asked, "Are there any Selwyns Harry should be aware of?"

As Cyrus responded, Harry looked startled. "The scion Sophronia Selwyn is attending Hogwarts, she is in Slytherin house and a prefect."

As Harry looked between them curiously, Sirius asked a question. "Where does she stand in the line of succession?"

"She is far down the line, her great-uncle is the current Lord and there are some men and even a few women ahead of her."

Sirius looked to Harry again and saw him looking pensive. "That makes her dangerous, Harry." That statement had Harry looking gobsmacked so he continued quickly. "She is a member of a Noble and Most Ancient house so that makes you peers of a sort. However, she has no realistic chance of being Lady Selwyn so she will be looking for an heir to become the Lady of his house. She could be looking right at you, Harry. This affiliation between the Blacks and Selwyns would make it seem even more logical to her."

Harry was beginning to look ill so Sirius decided to keep the conversation going as a distraction. "Cyrus, do you know what year she is in?"

"I'm pretty sure that she is in her seventh year but I can verify with Daphne, she'd know for certain."

It was a small relief to Sirius when he heard Harry interject, "Seventh year? But she is… err… old – I mean older."

On the other hand, what he had just said was rather amusing to Sirius. "First, a very important point Harry, **never** call a woman old, _especially_ if she is."

Harry was blushing furiously as he replied. "That sort of slipped out. I know better than that, it was an accident."

"An accident that could get you hexed, Harry. Remember that." Harry nodded furiously so Sirius dropped that issue. "Four years may seem like a big gap now, Harry, but when you're an adult, it won't matter much."

Harry was recovering and now looked curious. "Even if the girl is older than the boy?"

"Yes, although that is the less common situation but it does happen."

Although Harry looked pensive, he also looked a bit uncomfortable so Sirius decided to provide another distraction. "There is another family affiliation you should be aware of, the Flints are almost a vassal family to the Blacks. It's not an official status but they do owe us a debt that they have not been able to repay. The Blacks have been holding that over them and that has created some resentment. Do you know of a Flint?"

Harry grimaced so the answer looked to be a 'yes'. "Yeah, Marcus Flint. He's on the Slytherin Quidditch team and is a right bastard who likes to cheat."

Sirius smiled as he replied, "That pretty much sums up the family, Harry. They are also prone to agree with Voldemort. The Selwyns were smart enough to keep their distance officially, the Flints were not. They took a hit at the end of the first war with Voldemort. They may be ancient and noble but they are relatively poor and don't have much influence as a family. This Marcus Flint should try to be nice to you due to their debt but he probably won't be that smart. You should expect some hostility from him when our association comes to light."

Harry's voice was subdued but sarcastic as he said, "Brilliant."

Sirius gave Harry a relatively stern look. "This next part has to be kept confidential. Cyrus has indirectly reached out to both families as to how they will respond to a Wizengamot vote regarding the Blacks. The Selwyn response was favourable, the Flint one was not. You should be ready for similar responses from the members of those families with you at Hogwarts. Also, you are not to conduct formal family business at Hogwarts, the penalty for doing so is expulsion. However, there is no reason for any of you to be conducting family business, it just might affect their behaviour, understand?"

His response was subdued but resolute, "Yes, I understand. Am I related to either of them?"

"The chances are good that in both cases, you are. I know my great-great-grandfather – the man who may be the most unpopular headmaster of Hogwarts for all time – married a Flint."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "That figures."

* * *

Albus found himself fiddling with the items on his desk and stopped himself, it was a clear sign of nervousness and he had enough of a disadvantage for this meeting without adding to it. He was about to face the man that undoubtedly had custody of Harry Potter and he had made a grievous error in regards to the welfare of that boy. He knew he had something to answer for and wasn't looking forward to it. He took a deep calming breath and used his Occlumency as well when he felt the notification that the board of governors' password had just been used on the gargoyle.

He knew that it would probably be useless in this case but he couldn't help himself, he said "Enter" before Lord Greengrass got the chance to knock. He studied the man as he entered, perfectly composed and completely unreadable yet that still told Albus something, this man had something to hide. He began to suspect that their conversation about Harry would not be as frank as he expected.

"Greetings, Lord Greengrass. Could I interest you in a Lemon Drop?"

He got no visible reaction to it as the man greeted him and sat down. "Greetings, Headmaster. No thank you, we have a lot to discuss." That was certainly was business-like but it wasn't particularly encouraging either.

Before Cyrus could direct the discussion in a different direction, he had to try to get one of his questions answered. "Certainly, might I take the time to enquire how Harry Potter is?"

"You can certainly enquire but I am curious to know why you are asking me."

He wasn't giving anything away, that much was clear. "I just thought that you might know, you have always seemed to be well informed."

He finally got a slight reaction but it wasn't one that he had hoped for. There was a dangerous look in Cyrus' eyes when he spoke next. "Do you really want to talk about Heir Potter?"

He thought he did but that look made him wonder if he'd like this discussion any better than the one he'd had with Croaker. He certainly didn't need another one of those but he still had a need to know. "I would appreciate anything you can offer about his current situation."

"Very well, I had planned on starting with school business but we can jump to that if you are so eager. What I want to discuss is in here." He withdrew a multipage document and put it on his desk, right in front of him. Of all the things he might have brought with him, he never expected it to be the Potter will. He felt a chill go down his spine as he realized that there was one thing he hadn't wanted to see in this will but he couldn't afford to take things at face value. There could be more going on here than he could guess.

"I am curious as to how you came upon a document that was sealed; I may need to start an inquiry."

That may have been a misstep, there wasn't much of a reaction but it didn't look good for him. "Really? I was about to suggest the same thing. The Wizengamot would be very interested in the last wishes of the lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House being ignored for the personal wishes of one man, whoever he might be."

He had a point, he must now step carefully but the authenticity of this document was yet to be established. "How am I to know that this is a true copy?"

"Check it yourself, it is a certified copy supplied by Gringotts."

Of course, he should have thought of that himself. His ruling would carry great weight with the Ministry but the goblins played by their own rules and his order would not impress them, they'd go by the wizard-goblin treaties and established wizarding traditions of the oldest families, which included the Potters – and the Greengrasses for that matter. He flicked his wand at the suspect document and was unsurprised but concerned when it came up as valid. Before he could think of anything to say, Lord Greengrass spoke again.

"The part you were so desperate to conceal is on page four, under the orders for their son's guardianship." He had to stifle all reaction, this man knew why he had sealed this document and this was going poorly but then things became worse when Lord Greengrass continued. "The part I wish to discuss is at the top of page 2, just after the legalese. Specifically where they clarify the truth of who their secret keeper was."

He frowned, he wondered how there could be any doubt about the secret keeper so this subject was quite unexpected. He was getting nothing from the man staring at him so he opened the document to the indicated page and scanned down to the part he referenced and froze when he read it.

This might be even worse than the dressing down he'd gotten from Croaker. This document was telling him that he'd allowed an innocent man to be sent to Azkaban and left to rot. He had known Sirius Black, had been shocked at what had happened but then had failed to question it. He would be ashamed of that in any case but the man had been helping him in his organization, at the moment he couldn't think of why he'd never questioned his guilt. He had been relieved to find the traitor but this was telling him he had the wrong man. Was Peter Pettigrew even dead?

"They deceived me." He hadn't meant for that to come out but the look of Lord Greengrass only hardened, he wasn't going to get any slack from this man.

"That may be true but as Chief Warlock it was your duty to see to it that everyone got a fair trial. He got none at all and he even worked for you yet you did nothing."

That last part was not generally known but still proved nothing, there were others alive who knew that and his knowing that wasn't probative. Unfortunately for him, it was also completely true so he deserved another humiliation. "I will immediately order the will to be unsealed, of course. Everyone must be aware of this. I trust that Mr. Black is safe for the moment?"

"I hope that is true."

He was still giving away nothing but he had to assume that Cyrus knew where he was and that was reassuring. He slid the document back towards Lord Greengrass and was relieved when he took it as that meant there was nothing more in that document to condemn him.

"Now we need to discuss the safety and proper treatment of the students in this school by all of the staff. My particular concerns are the caretaker, your potions professor and a ghost that wasn't even a good professor when he was alive."

He suppressed a sigh, so much for this meeting getting better.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Sirius regarded his godson with a mix of warmth and amusement. "The wolf will be glad to see Padfoot again, Moony would know. His wolf is always around, just quiet when it's not the full moon. Besides, I've done this for years and nothing ever happened plus it makes things easier for Moony and that's the most important thing."

"When will you be back?"

"Probably not until the next day after as I'm not going to get any sleep tonight." Harry looked uncomfortable again so he added as he clasped Harry's shoulder, "It's going to be fun for me, I get to let my inner dog out to play."

After a moment of contemplation Harry looked up at him again and asked, "You're still going to help me become an Animagus too?"

"Of course, Pup. I'm looking forward to it; it will be nice having an apprentice in the art of becoming a Marauder."

Harry rolled his eyes but grinned so Sirius decided that this was settled. Daphne was the only other one with them at the Apparition point although she had hung back to give them some privacy so he motioned his head in her direction as he said, "I think you have someone here who can keep you distracted while I'm gone."

Sirius hid a smirk when he saw his godson's cheeks turn a little pink, this was still a teasing goldmine but he didn't want to overwork that seam just yet and it was getting late anyway. He had to be there to settle in before they would transform. "See you later, Pup."

"See you, Padfoot."

He still saw a little concern in his godson's face but mostly he seemed content and that was probably the best he could hope for. He gathered himself for his first Apparition in years and although the crack was louder than he would normally like, he made it through in one piece. He was even facing the right way and started on his way towards the Lupin cottage that Remus had inherited. His long-time friend opened the door and gave him a small smirk as he approached, it was so good to have Moony back.

Remus' voice was a little rough as he said, "Welcome, Pads."

He looked his friend over and could see that the approaching full moon was already taking its toll. He just wished he'd thought of getting the Wolfsbane potion in time but it was too late now although he did have one gift so he held out the package to a now confused Moony. "It's good to see you as always, Moony."

Remus gave the package a suspicious look and didn't touch it. "What's this then?"

Did Moony really think that he'd prank him now? Well, actually he might do it as a distraction, OK that would totally be in character. He smirked and muttered "catch" as he tossed the package to Moony who quickly caught it and after looking at it again, he looked at Sirius and asked, "What is it?"

"A little gift to celebrate your new job."

After a momentary frown, Remus walked over to his table and began to open it after placing it on the table. He looked surprised to be looking at a new set of robes. He gave Sirius a look with a mix of concern and curiosity as he said, "I have robes."

"You have rags that used to be robes. A professor can't look scruffy, did you ever have a professor that looked scruffy?"

Remus looked puzzled and then unfolded the robes to get a better look and saw the Hogwarts crest on them. He turned back to Sirius with a hint of a scowl on his face and opened his mouth to say something but something in the determined look Sirius was giving him seemed to change his mind. After a small huff, he said, "Thanks Pads."

"You're welcome, Moony."

Sirius smiled at his friend as Moony finally loosened up and smiled back. What good was all the Black fortune if he couldn't use it to help his friends? He hoped he was finally convincing his friend that he wasn't imposing on him at all.

* * *

Cornelius Fudge's irate face appeared in the flames of the Headmaster's fireplace. "I don't know what you were thinking! Releasing that will after all these years! You dredged it all back up again and now people are questioning what happened with Black! It's a disaster and it's your fault!"

This was going so much worse than his lowest expectations, he couldn't even keep the minister on the subject at hand. "Cornelius, please calm down. What I wanted to discuss with you is putting the dementors around Hogwarts. It is completely unnecessary and a risk to all of the children here. I really must insist…."

"Unnecessary?! Are you mad?! He's a homicidal maniac and he'll be after Harry Potter, mark my words! Imagine the furore if he gets to Potter! It must be prevented at all costs!"

Once again he tried to be the voice of reason. "He was not the secret keeper! He did not betray the Potters…."

Cornelius was practically foaming at the mouth. "They could have changed their minds again after the will! Besides, even if he was after Pettigrew and he was the traitor, he still killed twelve Muggles! We can't just cover that up! Everyone tells me he's gone quite mad anyway! He's a danger to everyone in his state!"

"Cornelius, what if one of the children is hurt or worse yet kissed by a dementor? Do you realize the furore that would cause?"

"The dementors are under control, it's you that I'm worried about! I don't have time for this! You have no jurisdiction outside the walls of Hogwarts so I'll thank you to keep your nose out of ministry business!"

The floo connection abruptly closed. Albus was rather glad this hadn't been an in-person meeting as Cornelius' spittle would have been all over the place. He sighed and said, "Well, that was even worse than I had imagined."

Cyrus emerged from his place of concealment and responded, "I knew he was an idiot, I just didn't realize how much of one he was."

Albus turned to face the chairman. "As I recall, Cornelius does have a connection to the events of Sirius Black's arrest. He was the leader of the magical reversal squad dispatched to cover things up for the Muggles. I recollect some talk of his team being in too much in a hurry and destroying evidence so he's probably afraid this will come back to him."

"So he dispatches monsters around a school where one of the children could end up dead? That's a brilliant way to stay out of trouble."

He was tempted to smile at the sarcasm but resisted as he wasn't sure how Lord Greengrass would take it. "I quite agree, Lord Greengrass. Alas, Cornelius will not listen to reason on this. There will be dementors around the school whether we like it or not."

Cyrus sighed and murmured, "I will have to try to teach my daughters the Patronus charm. It should also be added to the lessons for DADA this year."

Albus nodded and added, "I will do what I can to fortify the wards around the school but it is difficult to keep dementors out for a long period. Wards strong enough for that might be a danger to the children as well."

Cyrus sighed and headed for the door. "I will leave you to that then, Headmaster."

After the door closed Albus sighed again. Cyrus was still not giving him an inch but at least this fiasco could not be laid at his door. He didn't want the dementors around any more than Cyrus did.

* * *

Roxanne came to the table where they did lessons carrying something and saw that Daphne and Harry were already there and more solemn than usual. They exchanged greetings and she wondered if it was just the end-of-summer blues or something else when Astoria appeared and even she seemed to have caught the serious mood. Instead of starting what she had intended to cover, she tried to find out what was going on.

"Why is everyone so down?"

Astoria grimaced and murmured, "A little nervous about school."

She nodded and made a note to approach Astoria again later. She then turned to the other two expectantly. She was slightly surprised when it was Harry who answered.

"We have to go back tonight."

"We can try to spend more time here next summer." When she got solemn nods back, she knew it was a bit more than that, they wouldn't be free to spend as much time together soon and she wished she had a solution.

"Before we work on the Patronus charm again….." She paused at a groan from Astoria who noticed her mother's attention and blushed in silence. "We have something to talk about and we have some protective amulets for you to wear this year. You can wear them under your uniforms if you wish."

She distributed two necklaces with delicate gold chains to the girls and a somewhat heavier built one to Harry, who looked at it curiously. "The stones are all Black Tourmaline and Muggles believe them to be able to protect you from negative energy and psychic attack but they are only partly right. This stone is actually good at holding spells that will protect you from such things. Like Occlumency, these will protect you from Legilimency but more importantly for this year, they will partially protect you from the despair that dementors can cause."

She watched all three react to that, suddenly much more interested in the amulets. She was pleased to see that but she had more to cover. "Don't depend on them to protect you from the dementors themselves, they can't do that, they only make it easier for you to resist the despair. You must try your best to learn the Patronus charm." Astoria squirmed in her seat as she hadn't accomplished anything with the charm yet while Harry and Daphne produced mist. They all had a ways to go but Astoria's was the longest road.

"We need to discuss one of your professors and although Harry and Daphne may know some of this already, I want all three of you aware of all that I am about to tell you. Before I begin, I want to emphasize that this is not to be discussed outside the family. I will not have you starting rumours, you girls know how I feel about that."

Harry looked on curiously as the girls both nodded. "Severus Snape and Lily Evans met before either of them went to Hogwarts and Astoria, if you have forgotten Lily was Harry's mother. They were friends until the end of fifth year although there was some strain in the friendship starting in their fourth year. He called Lily something that neither she nor I could forgive him for and that was the end of their friendship."

"I don't know much about Snape's early life but I know enough to know it was hard. I was able to find out that his pureblood mother, she was a Prince, married a wealthy Muggle named Snape. Somehow, he managed to squander his wealth and took his frustrations out on his wife and son. His mother died while he was in his seventh year and his father died the next summer. Whilst circumstances might have been suspicious to the Aurors, the Muggle police handled it and found nothing amiss."

"Sometime after he graduated, Severus Snape became a Death Eater." All three children reacted and as she suspected, Harry's reaction was the strongest.

"He was a Death Eater?!"

"Yes, but Dumbledore got him off at the end of the war saying that he had turned against Voldemort and worked for him. As far as I know, that is true. I also know that he was distraught after Lily's death so he still cared for her to some degree."

She had paused to let that sink in and noticed that Harry was troubled. "Do you have a question, Harry?"

"Why does he hate me?"

She tried to give Harry a supportive look but her own disquiet probably came through. "I can only speculate on that but that is what I was going to cover next. Your father, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew called themselves 'The Marauders' and enjoyed pranking and doing things they considered impressive. They were never quite outright bullies but they took an instant dislike to Snape and pranked him mercilessly."

"It was not one-sided as he would prank them back and not always alone, he had some allies in Slytherin House, especially in his later years. The important thing is that I think your father was jealous of Snape being friends with Lily while she, as you know, held a low opinion of him until the last two years. They never got to attempting permanent harm to each other but they both got a little vicious. Your resemblance to your father would be a negative influence on Snape."

"There is one incident that was mostly between Sirius and Snape that almost got out of control. What was meant to be a trick, accidently caused Snape to almost encounter Remus during a full moon. Your father saved Snape's life that night and Snape never forgave him, he didn't want to owe anything to his bitter rival. He never got to repay that debt so it is possible that Snape may feel some distant obligation to protect you, although that is hard to see from his behaviour towards you."

Harry huffed in annoyance but didn't say anything.

"Severus Snape seems to be a complex man. I am not sure how bad his childhood was nor how that might have shaped him. I can guess that Voldemort choosing to go after Lily might have induced Snape to change sides. I do know he is a brilliant potions master and a powerful wizard. I know he has anger issues and isn't a good teacher and might even hate children based on his behaviour."

"I do not trust him to do a good job of teaching nor of being fair to you, Harry. Remember what I have taught you about potions and keep up to date on the ingredients you will be encountering during your year in the reference book you all have. Be careful in potions class and if he ignores safety issues, tell your father."

She paused with a slight smirk and looked at Harry and said, "In your case, tell Cyrus about that and also any other issues you might have with him. Cyrus is in a position to do something about him now and we need to use that if necessary."

Harry's nod ended that issue. "OK, everyone, wands out and let's head outside, it's Patronus time again."

The two eldest looked determined while the youngest looked unenthusiastic. She'd have to push Astoria a little to do her best with a difficult charm. It wasn't really something she felt was fair to teach a first year but with the dementors at school this year it was too important to ignore.

* * *

Mipsy was very happy that Dobby had come into their lives. She couldn't have a mate that wasn't tied to her family in some way as it could create a conflict of interest between her and her mate, which would be disastrous for a house-elf. As soon as he had pledged to protect the Greengrasses as he protected his own master, it had been possible for them to be mated.

She liked Dobby despite his eccentric ways and she often found his exuberance amusing as well. However, she really had to work with him to learn to speak better as he could embarrass her masters in a public situation and she wanted to avoid that if at all possible. Thus, she found herself trying to drill him on pronouncing some important words correctly, like right this moment.

She spoke clearly towards Dobby, "Diagon Alley."

"DIagonallyly."

She resisted face-palming but only just. She patiently explained, "There is being two words: DIagon Alley. Try again."

"Dog Gone Alley."

"No, it is being Diagon then Alley."

"Diagonthenalley."

She sighed and supposed it was going to take longer than she had thought.

* * *

Harry was so distracted with his own thoughts that he was slightly startled when she took his hand. They had started the walk on the beach right after dinner as they were soon going to head back to the manor to be ready to go the Hogwarts the next day. He was not only lamenting losing the walks on the beach, he was considering the loss of any walks with her and even spending a lot of time with her. As much as he normally looked forward to going back to Hogwarts, he now felt like he didn't want to go at all.

He looked at her when she took his hand to see that she was regarding him with a look of concern. "What's wrong?"

He shrugged but also squeezed her hand to reassure her. "I was just thinking that this is not only our last walk on the beach, we won't be able to spend nearly as much time together at Hogwarts."

"I know, I'm not happy about that either but we got through last year OK. We can do it again this year."

The look she gave him made him feel funny and he decided to give in to an urge to hug her. She somehow managed to fit herself into him as if she had been made to be there and hugged him fiercely back. She looked up at him and whispered, "We'll just have to remember how much we care for each other and cherish what time we do have together. I think we'll be fine, I can feel that in my heart."

The way she was looking at him just seemed to draw him in and the next thing he knew, he was kissing her.


	10. Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts

Chapter 10 Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts

A/N: Sentences in bold without quotes are something written. Thank you to the many that have read and especially to those who have reviewed. As usual, this chapter has been improved by the able assistance of Shygui.

For the record, I would like to point out that it is NOT being obsessive to memorize a boy's schedule so that you can accidentally bump into him. It is called being efficient. ― Jess Rothenberg

As usual, Minerva McGonagall had arrived early for the first staff meeting of the year but not as usual she had barely returned his greeting and had little to say to him as they waited for the rest of the staff to arrive. If it had been just her, he might wonder what was wrong with her but after being read the riot act by both Croaker and the new chairman of the board of governors, he knew he had had to give himself a good, hard look in the mirror. It was a very humbling position to be in for a man who was accustomed to being honoured and admired and he had to do something about this.

He wasn't sure about most of the staff but he knew at least one professor would take offense to what he would have to say but still he had to say it. He'd be willing to give up one of his titles but his last choice would be to leave Hogwarts so he had to do what he probably should have done long ago. He needed to change the climate of the school and that had to start with the staff, even if some of them might need to be dragged to it, kicking, biting and screaming. He again contemplated their newest addition as Remus took a chair, he had thought to leverage his gratitude to use him as an information source but for now he planned to back off as he'd had enough lectures to last him for quite a while.

His mind was still preoccupied as he watched Hagrid bustle in, bringing in an outdoorsy smell and gruff greetings for all. He was quickly followed by the gloomy and grimy presence of Filch and the far more cheery chatter between professors Vector and Babbling. The others came in a stream of greetings and he was relieved to see Minerva's reserve thaw as she greeted Flitwick warmly. They'd always been cordial but he wondered for a moment about this newfound warmth. Had they bonded over helping Harry? That would be a good thing in his view.

As negative an influence as Filch was, a chill seemed to go through most of those present as Severus Snape finally made his dour presence known. As was usual, he greeted no one, merely sitting in his usual chair and waiting for the meeting to start. He was going to be Albus' biggest challenge, he had no doubts about that. How had he been so blind to the negative influence of this one man? Certainly he had to protect him and keep him near for Voldemort's eventual return but he couldn't let him scar a whole generation of students. He felt his determination grow as he resolved to fix this not just to preserve his own position but to finally do right by the students of this school.

Things had already gotten quiet so he had no need to gain their attention so instead he straightened in his chair slightly before delivering his opening comments. "Welcome to the beginning of a new year at Hogwarts. I have been remiss in my duties and I am going to do more than just say this, I am compelled to enforce it. Our duty is to provide a nurturing, educational environment for the magical youth of Britain. We must provide a school free of abuse, bullying and most of all a safe environment for the children. Not only do I expect all of my staff to do their best to provide that environment, I cannot allow you to ignore any situations that may conflict with our responsibilities to the youth and future of our country. We have a student charter and rules in place and we will enforce them on all students equally."

He had been watching the reactions and gotten partly what he expected. The sceptical looks on most of the faces hurt him but deep down he knew he deserved that, he'd let things slide for too long. He got the expected reaction from Filch, who was frowning and from Snape, who was mostly stoic although he had narrowed his eyes as he regarded his headmaster. He preferred a private approach with Severus, he would meet Filch head-on to show he meant business to the rest.

"Did you have something to say, Argus?"

Filch had a hopeful look on his face and tone to his voice. "Does this mean there will some proper punishments for the students finally?"

"Only if they deserve it, Argus, as you are presuming that they all deserve punishment. We will NOT be instituting corporal punishment as that has been contrary to the bylaws of Hogwarts for over a generation."

Filch's expression changed to the more common look of disdain. "But those little deviants don't understand anything else!"

Albus frowned, it was time to show how serious he was. "I am quite disappointed that you would use that word to describe students, Argus. That is not an attitude that I can afford to keep in Hogwarts. If you wished to retire, you should have told me so I could arrange a replacement for you."

Argus had become quite pale and still, apparently he hadn't expected him to be this serious about what he had said or perhaps the sour old man simply heard what he wanted to hear. Albus had to admit that perhaps he had been guilty of that same thing in recent years.

Argus now was looking nervously around as if looking for support but as Albus looked for reactions, he saw some disdain towards Filch and general curiosity towards him. Good, at least he had them considering the possibility that he was finally serious about this. He kept his gaze fixed on Argus as he finally gave up on finding support and looked timidly back at him.

"I, umm… wasn't really thinking about retirement yet."

"If your attitude towards students doesn't improve, I may make the decision for you, Argus."

Albus was impressed with how pale the grimy man could get. He barely heard the man as he muttered, "I'll do my best to be more tolerant, Headmaster."

"See that you do, Argus." He kept his disapproving gaze on the man until he turned his eyes to the floor and tried to look as small as possible. He wouldn't accomplish anything more by browbeating the man so he returned to speaking to the group.

As he looked at the group he saw mostly curiosity but Severus was staring venomously at the table and Minerva looked at him with a bit of hope mixed with her interest. "The instructions to the head boy and girl were explicit on this point, rules will be enforced uniformly, and nobody will be above the rules. I expect the staff to support the prefects in keeping order and ensuring that we have a safe and productive environment here at this school. Are there any questions?"

He was slightly astonished that after some surprised looks being exchanged nobody spoke up. There was other business to conclude so he moved on to administrative matters. He noticed that the meeting was somewhat quieter than usual but still productive. As he was wrapping up, he turned to Hagrid and reminded him, "Remember, Rubeus, to give me the list of animals you wish to introduce to each class before you do so."

"Righ' 'eadmaster, I'll do tha'." He nodded pleasantly as he carefully made his way out around his smaller co-workers.

He fixed his gaze on the potions master, "Severus, I would like to stay behind for a moment, if you please."

Snape had been waiting for the others to make way anyway but he nodded stiffly and stayed in his chair. Albus got the distinct impression that Severus was preparing for a fight and he just might get one. When the last staff member closed the door behind them, he raised the privacy wards and looked at his potions professor who was staring at the table.

"I have many titles, Severus, but the one most important to me is Headmaster here at Hogwarts. The new chairman of the board of governors has put me on notice that he is not satisfied with how things are going here at Hogwarts and as was proven last year, they can suspend me and even terminate me. I cannot allow that to happen so things must change. Nobody and no house can be allowed to break the rules. Punishments must be fair and equal for all. We must maintain a safe and egalitarian environment. Your actions based on house must cease."

Severus' deep voice responded but with little emotion. "As I have explained to you repeatedly, in order to combat the prejudice against my house I must protect them. If I am to appear to be a faithful follower of the Dark Lord, I must act like it. Besides, you have your pet Potter who gets away with everything and you allow that."

This was exactly what he had expected and he had to suppress a sigh of frustration. "And I submit to you Severus, that you are the one person most responsible for the attitude not only of your house but of the other houses towards the Slytherins. You are creating the environment that you feel that you must protect them from. Control your house better or I will have to find someone who can."

That got a reaction as he suddenly stood and glared at Albus. "That was not our deal! You are the one who put me in this position! I never wanted to be a professor; that was your decision!"

"And that may well have been a mistake. Perhaps you could serve as the potions master for the school…"

Severus was really losing his temper now. "That is not a full time position!"

Albus sighed and looked down momentarily to gather his thoughts. "I am telling you that we cannot allow things to continue as they are. If I don't make changes, the chairman has enough support – voluntarily this time – to make the changes themselves. That decision may be taken out of my hands. You must at least rein in the darker elements in your house but I really need some cooperation on integrating them with the other houses in a friendly manner. This simply cannot continue."

"You never answered me about your pet Potter! Rein him in!"

Albus wanted to roll his eyes but managed to suppress that. "Harry Potter has never tried to harm another student. Harry Potter does not bully…"

Severus reminded him of Fudge and not in a good way as spittle sprang from his mouth as he raged. "Yes he does!"

Albus glared at him and yelled back, "WHOM!?"

Severus looked taken aback and Albus had to admit, it had been a long time since he shouted in anger. Severus' voice almost sounded timid in comparison to before. "What?"

"You claimed he has bullied someone. Whom?"

"Draco Malfoy."

Albus couldn't believe he said that. "Harry Potter bullied Draco Malfoy? You would have to prove that to me. Show me a memory but be aware that I can show you some where young Malfoy sought out Harry to harass him. We've all seen it! Show me the memory, Severus." He pointed to his Pensieve and waited but Severus just stared sullenly back.

He was tired of these games about Harry Potter. "I thought not. You only see his father, not the boy in front of you. Have you looked at his eyes, Severus? Can you look at them and not see Lily's eyes?"

"Don't you dare bring that up!" Severus was back to spitting again, he'd have to remember to perform a cleaning charm when he left.

"How can you claim to love a woman and hate her son? Her son with her eyes! I tire of this debate, Severus. I'm getting too old for this and have wasted far too much time on this old argument. You will either have to shape up yourself and your house or come up with some other idea of what to do. We cannot continue as we have."

Severus gave him a glare and abruptly turned and stormed to the door. After he had opened it, he turned back and surprisingly quietly said, "You are making a mistake." He then slammed the door and left. Albus' shoulders sagged, he doubted that he was making a mistake now but he was afraid that Severus might make one. He cast his cleaning charm and sat back to ponder.

For now, he would have to continue to search for a new history teacher. Cyrus had accepted that he couldn't produce a good choice on the spot. He thought he'd had him when he suggested that his wife would be a good history professor given that her youngest was now out of the house but that fell through. He wasn't going to waste time trying to reason with a ghost, particularly one who neglected to attend staff meetings. He'd find his replacement and banish the ghost from his lecture hall. Let him give his droning lectures to his empty office, the students would have more productive use for their time. Overall, this was an awful start to the year and the students hadn't even arrived yet.

* * *

It seemed a little surreal, a quiet breakfast together with no arguments, teasing or forgotten items. Their preparations were organized and unhurried; it was so unlike his previous times that the difference was almost stunning. Going with the Weasleys was more entertaining but this was less stressful.

Just before they left, Harry donned his cloak with his new trunk already shrunken and in his pocket. Dobby was taking him while the Greengrass parents took their daughters so there'd be no sign he was among them. The whole family was going, minus Sirius of course, it being too dangerous for him to go in public, even as Padfoot. After they arrived at the station, the two girls got their farewells from their parents and he felt a little left out even though he'd already gotten his farewells before they left.

Tracey soon joined them and whispered with Daphne and he suspected it might have been about him as she glanced around subtly but of course, she couldn't see him. He smirked at her even though she couldn't see him but was distracted by Astoria's sudden shout of "Jessica!"

He looked over to see a small girl run up to Astoria and embrace her. The two girls seemed to be genuinely glad to see each other and he had a different sort of smile on his face while he watched them. They started moving away and Daphne called out, "Wait! Aren't you going to stay with me?"

Astoria rolled her eyes at her sister and said, "I have my own friends and I can take care of myself. Besides, you have something else to worry about because I told a certain someone who gave me the Harry Potter books."

Daphne looked aghast as the two girls tittered and moved away that he had trouble keeping from laughing himself. Tracey seemed to be trying to console her friend. "You know she's more social than you, she'll make her own friends but that doesn't mean she isn't your little sister anymore."

Harry was close enough to hear Daphne's muttered reply as she scowled and said, "She won't be my little sister anymore if I disown her! She told…." As Daphne suddenly shut her mouth and blushed while looking around furtively, he again had to stifle laughter; she seemed quite embarrassed about him learning about the books. Really, it wasn't a big deal to him although he might have to tease her – just a little.

After some more momentary fussing by Daphne, the two remaining girls started towards the train to find a cabin and Harry followed along, trying to stay alert so he wouldn't bump into anyone. It was still early – another first for him – so there weren't that many people about yet making it a simple task to stay untouched.

They entered through the last car, which happened to be closest and Daphne paused in surprise so Tracey looked into the compartment too as Harry peered over them. He saw a somewhat shabby looking man asleep on the bench and was speculating it was Remus when Daphne murmured to Tracey, "I think that's our new DADA professor but I can't see his face clearly to be sure."

Tracey sounded puzzled when she asked, "Why is he here? Professors don't usually ride the train."

Daphne shrugged and said, "No idea, let's go find our own compartment."

As they approached the next car, Harry began to see a glow suggesting that they were approaching something magical but it wasn't until they went through the doors that he saw what it was. He saw a glowing Draco Malfoy with something draped over him and based on the fact he was remaining still and was unnoticed by the girls, he realized the boy was wearing an invisibility cloak, just like him. He narrowed his eyes and ejected his wand into his hand as he saw Malfoy watching the girls as they chose their usual compartment.

They had made a habit of choosing a cabin in this car of the train and obviously, Draco had noticed that. What the hell was he doing spying on Daphne? Harry found that deeply disturbing and had to fight an urge to hex Malfoy on the spot.

He continued to observe his rival closely as he moved to the now-sealed door of their compartment and appeared to try to listen in, which Harry knew would be fruitless. Draco seemed to come to the same conclusion quickly and then tried the handle on the door, which didn't budge. Harry grinned as Draco began to quietly curse and barely paid attention to the sound of a door opening. Harry didn't realize what was happening until he saw Draco turn to glare at a boy staring perplexedly at the door beside Draco. Harry didn't recognize the boy but the boy must have heard Draco and was wondering what it was that he couldn't see.

Draco continued to glare malevolently at the approaching boy but had to eventually give ground or be discovered. The boy felt around and even Harry had to pull back a little to avoid accidental discovery. Draco continued to lurk in the corridor until someone else came into the car and asked the other boy what he was doing. The boy was explaining about hearing a voice when the other door opened and Draco and Harry had to make way for someone dragging their trunk and looking into the compartments as they passed.

Draco must have had enough as he slipped through the door before it closed and Harry was left unprepared so he didn't make it. He watched from near the door but had to also keep his eyes on the others in the car but thankfully, none of them approached his position.

Harry was left in a real quandary. Why was Draco trying to spy on Daphne? Was he trying to do more than spy on them? He also had the more immediate problem: how does he get out of this car unnoticed since there was at least one student here looking from something invisible? Draco had inadvertently left him in a bit of a spot. Fortunately, the boy gave up on his search to talk with his friend and the next time the door opened, Harry took his opportunity to follow Malfoy.

Harry found Draco sulking in a compartment of that car but he had apparently taken off his cloak as the glow was coming from a bag beside him and Crabbe and Goyle could obviously see Draco even though none of them was talking. Apparently, Draco's sour mood was putting off his bodyguards so they sat in brooding silence. That couldn't happen to a nicer set of goons was Harry's conclusion. When the door to the car opened again, he saw a girl dragging her trunk and heading towards the front of the train.

Once more Harry was left with a decision to make, what should he do now? His chances of being discovered were increasing with each student arrival and Draco seemed harmless now as the girls were safe in their compartment and Draco seemed done with his skulking. Harry waited until he saw nobody and quickly removed his own cloak and stuffed it into a pocket. After another look around, he continued towards the front to see if he could find either Neville or Hermione, expecting that Ron would be a last-minute arrival as usual.

He was so busy looking into compartments that he nearly bumped into a blond girl with odd eyes, she seemed distracted or like she might be looking through things rather than at them. He had barely gotten out "Excuse me," when she spoke to him.

"Hello, Harry Potter. Congratulations on your bond."

Harry was dumbfounded. Bond? Did she mean the possible marriage bond? Who was this girl? It took him a moment to come up with something to say but the girl seemed endlessly patient. "Umm… thanks? Who are you?"

She still seemed dreamy to him as she replied, "I'm sorry Harry Potter, I'm Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw a year behind you."

"Oh, well, pleased to meet you, I'm… never mind, you already know who I am."

He chuckled nervously and offered to shake her hand as she certainly didn't seem to be using wizarding manners or at least how he knew them to be. She shook his hand more firmly than he expected but before he could say anything else she said, "I better find a compartment. I just hope I can hang on to it this time."

He looked at her in confusion. Why wouldn't she be able to hang on to her compartment? It's not like anyone would come in later and throw her out of it, was it? Then he thought that there probably were some gits who would do something like that. She had continued on though so he decided to figure it out later. He was also pondering her earrings, which looked like radishes. Surely she wasn't wearing radishes as jewellery, right?

He finally found Neville sitting alone but still seemed to be settling in so he hadn't been there long. He opened the door with a smile and greeted his friend. "Hey, Neville. How was your summer since I saw you?"

"Great. Gran seems to be easing up on me, and even gave me a quick hug at the station. It's a little weird but a good kind of weird. How was your summer?"

He enlarged his trunk and selected the second compartment and opened it to look for his parchment linked to Daphne's, which he had neglected to keep on him. He found it and as he was closing it up, he answered his friend. "Mine was the best ever. We went to the beach for the last week, I'd never really been on a beach before and it was really fun."

His friend gave him a smirk as he opened the parchment to write to Daphne. "How's Daphne?"

He answered distractedly as he saw she'd already written something. "Fine."

 **Did you try to enter our compartment?**

He looked up when Neville snickered. He wondered what he found so humorous so he asked, "What?"

"Didn't you just say goodbye to her?"

Oh, he was being teased. "You're just jealous, get your own girlfriend."

He got his quill out and started to write as Neville snickered again. He was starting to wonder if he liked his friend better when he was still shy.

 **No, that was Malfoy. He's got an invisibility cloak and tried to spy on you and even tried to open the door.**

He looked up to see Neville grinning at him so he decided to fill him on some not-so-fun news. "Malfoy has an invisibility cloak and tried to spy on Daphne."

That got Neville to drop the smile and ask, "What? How do you know?"

"When I'm wearing my own cloak, I can see certain types of magic through it so I could see the magic of the cloak and I could see through it to see Malfoy. He tried to listen at their door and even tried to open it. Daphne must have detected his attempt to enter as she just asked if I had tried to get in."

Neville sounded impressed but Harry was distracted as Daphne wrote again. "That's brilliant! I wonder what Malfoy is after."

 **That git! I'll have to watch him more closely this year.**

As he pondered a reply to Daphne, Harry muttered, "I wish I knew."

* * *

Daphne noted that Tracey seemed anxious as they completed the spells to seal their compartment. She had no news for her of any import and she began to wonder if her friend had some news to share. When they finished, she turned to Tracey and asked, "What's up?"

Tracey gave her a happy grin so she knew it was good news. "Neville and I have been corresponding and we've started talking about us!"

Daphne grinned at her friend as she asked, "So are you a couple now?"

Some of the smile slipped off of Tracey's face before she began to answer. "Not yet but we're going to talk about it. You might not be the only one with a Gryffindor boyfriend soon." Tracey's big smile returned for the last sentence.

"That sounds like progress but I can't congrat..." She broke off to look at the door when it flashed a warning that someone was trying to get in.

She heard Tracey's distracted voice saying "What?" as she drew her wand and faced the door.

When a few seconds went by she lowered her wand and turned back to Tracey. "I wonder if that could have been Harry."

"I thought he would sit with his friends as usual."

"That's the plan. If he needed to talk to me, he would have used the parchment." She pondered a few moments and then sat down and put her wand away and reached into her bag for her parchment and a quill. "I'll ask him if that was him."

She wrote a message to him but after a couple of minutes she gave up on the parchment and looked at the door again. "I wonder what is happening."

Tracey's voice had a teasing tone when she spoke. "So, Astoria finally outed you on the books, huh?"

That earned Tracey an icy glare from her friend.

* * *

Hermione really did like the Weasley family but she just wished they were a bit more organized. Staying with them at the Leaky Cauldron and going together to the station had seemed like such a good idea yesterday but today she was very worried about missing the train. Although she often found the twins' antics amusing, she also thought they were being a bit hard on their brother Percy. After all, it was a big honour to be chosen as head boy and she was intrigued at the instructions he had received from Hogwarts. It sounded like the rules were going to be applied more uniformly this year, which would be a big relief.

OK, she had to admit that Percy was being a bit pompous but he could get over that on his own, right? Tormenting the boy just didn't seem fair to her but she could admit to herself that her dream of someday being the head girl might have coloured her thinking on the subject. Most of her thoughts were on a different subject though: Ron Weasley.

She hadn't quite figured him out yet as he seemed different but kept assuring her he was fine. He seemed more – serious. For most things she considered that a good thing, for example schoolwork. However, she didn't want him serious all of the time; she sort of liked it when he made her laugh, even if it wasn't always on purpose.

She was also puzzled about the book he seemed to be hiding from her but from one glance she'd gotten she thought it was about runes. Why would he try to hide an interest in runes from her? It was also puzzling as he'd said he was taking Divination and Creatures as his electives when they talked last school year, not runes. He was being stubborn and didn't want to talk about it with her, which she found quite irksome.

There was a bit of a rush but she didn't get away without one of Mrs. Weasley's hugs and although she liked hugs hers seemed a bit stifling and were best kept short. For some reason both of the Weasley parents seemed to be particularly worried about Harry but they didn't want to discuss why. She was beginning to wonder if the whole Weasley family had decided to be irritating for some reason. Anyway, they had made Ron promise to owl them right away if anything was amiss with Harry and to report it to Dumbledore too. She hoped it wasn't still about where Harry had spent the summer as she'd expected that had blown over by now.

They made it on the train in time and Hermione had a sigh of relief. Most of them kept on going and searching for their friends but Percy left them quickly to start preparing for the prefect meeting. She tuned out the banter of the twins and hoped that Harry or Neville had been early enough to get a compartment for them as she was usually the one to do that. She found Harry and Neville talking alone in a compartment and opened the door to greet them. "Hello Harry, Neville. I'm glad you guys found us a compartment, we were almost late!"

She smiled at the boys as they greeted her and more greetings were exchanged as Ron and Ginny followed her in. That is until Ron said, "Ginny, don't you have your own friends to sit with?"

As Ginny huffed in annoyance, Hermione rounded on Ron with a glare. "Ronald! She's your sister!"

As Ron gave her a surprised look, Harry chimed in. "You can stay with us if you want, Ginny."

"No, that's OK, I was just saying 'hi'." She glared momentarily at a now sheepish Ron before continuing. "I was going to find my own friends anyway, so I'll see you lot later."

After a chorus of goodbyes, Hermione stowed her trunk with a little help from Ron but he motioned her to sit before he hefted his own onto the rack. Ron ended up taking the seat next to Harry so Hermione sat next to Neville.

It didn't take long for Hermione to start talking again. "I like your new glasses, can you see better?"

Harry gave her a smile as he replied, "Much better. It seems I should have had my eyes checked earlier. They not only correct my vision, they are charmed to stay on my face until I take them off and they are water resistant; I should have done this years ago."

While Ron was looking at his glasses curiously, Harry and Neville watched attentively as she placed a carrier beside her and opened it to reveal a rather ugly looking cat. Harry gave it a critical look and asked, "What is that?"

Hermione gave him a frown and responded tartly, "My cat!"

Harry got a teasing glint in his eye as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Hermione huffed and conceded, "He's half Kneazle." That is when she noticed Ron struggling to keep from laughing so she glared at him. However, when he recovered he just raised his hands as if surrendering so she let it drop.

Harry was eyeing Ron expectantly before asking, "Scabbers still missing?"

Ron seemed to deflate as he said, "Yeah and I'll never get him back now. There's a ton of cats in Egypt, a fat lump like him wouldn't have lasted long."

Harry had an odd look on his face that she couldn't place and that delayed her enough that Ron asked about his summer before she could.

"How was your summer, Harry?"

Harry's grin made it clear the answer was very good and it brought a smile to her face as well. "My best summer ever!"

She couldn't help but observe, "You seem to have a little bit of a tan, Harry."

"That's what happens when you spend a week at the beach." Harry had a big satisfied grin that made her chuckle before Ron spoke up.

"Beach!? You're lucky, Harry. All we got is the sand and that was in the middle of the desert. Don't get me wrong, seeing the pyramids and such was kind of fun but it wasn't the beach."

She couldn't help reacting to that. "Oh! I would love to see the pyramids! You'll have to tell me about that."

She noticed he blushed slightly but he had a small smile as well. Harry asked, "So, Ron… has your mother eased up on you?"

Ron seemed to snap out of a daze and looked at Harry. "Oh, yeah. Once we knew we were going on the trip, she pretty much forgot how mad she was at me. She'd give me an occasional glare but that was it. I got to do everything I wanted on the trip. I also had a few great talks with Bill, he's a curse breaker over there, did you know that?"

"Yeah, you told me. What's his job like?"

"I now know why he studied so hard, it isn't easy being a curse breaker. Ignorance or being in too much of a hurry can get you killed. He's awesome with runes and very quick with a wand."

She noted that Harry looked very impressed. "That sounds brilliant and I hope I get to meet him some day."

Ron grimaced slightly before answering. "He doesn't come back here much. He admitted that part of the reason he took the job where he is was to get away from mum. There's also a lot of work to do there and he likes that too."

She bit her lip, things were a bit awkward during the silence after Ron's answer so she decided to shift the conversation a bit and satisfy her curiosity at the same time. "Is he the one who gave you the book on runes?"

Ron stared at her, gobsmacked. "How did you…?" He huffed then glanced at Harry and Hermione saw that he looked curious too. Ron practically moaned out, "Fine." After looking at everyone for a moment he began again. "I didn't want to say anything until I know for sure but after talking to Bill, I wrote to McGonagall about dropping Divination and taking Ancient Runes instead. He gave me the book I'm reading, he says it's better than my textbook. He got that for me too, by the way."

The discussion covered Bill's job, runes in general and Ron's newfound dedication to his studies. They also talked about their summer homework and again, Ron showed up well with the work he had put in. They all talked about their summers and Hermione made a point of asking questions about what Ron had seen in Egypt. Hermione couldn't help but be impressed with Ron and was a lot happier to have her curiosity satisfied.

* * *

Harry was relaxing after their discussion died down and looked to see that Neville was dozing, Hermione was, of course, reading a book but the surprise was that Ron was also. He looked at the book Ron had and recognized it as one of the books they had used over the summer although it was not the textbook for the class. He was familiar enough with it to agree that it was a good one to have. He wondered if she should order one for himself.

Then he became side-tracked with wondering what he should tell them about Sirius, a subject that had never come up. That's when the lady with the cart came by and Harry quickly bought a variety of items, making sure he got treats for each of them. Hermione was enjoying a sugar quill when she suddenly brought up the very subject Harry had been wondering about.

"I read about Sirius Black escaping, you must be pretty upset about that, Harry. However, I also read about the Potter Will finally being unsealed and that he wasn't the secret keeper so I'm really not sure what is going on."

That got the attention of Ron and even Neville looked curious. Harry regarded the three of them and trying to make up his mind when Hermione asked, "What is wrong, Harry?"

Harry sighed and decided to get it over with, they all should know. He brought out his wand and used the same spells as Daphne did on her compartment that she had shared with him. When he was done, he had the full attention of all three of them.

"What I am about to tell you cannot get out to anyone and I mean _anyone_." He stared hard at Hermione, who he considered to be the one most likely to be reluctant to agree but she surprised him by readily agreeing and the boys quickly followed suit. He took a deep breath and decided to just blurt it out as he had no better idea.

"Sirius managed to find the Greengrass Manor and he spent most of the summer with us. We've been planning on how to get him cleared by the Wizengamot as he never had a trial. He's been brilliant although maybe a little immature sometimes. He's been getting treatment from a healer for something called PTSD and get this: he's the Lord Black. Not only that, but I'm a Black too through my great grandmother Dorea Black. She was the older sister of the previous Lord Black, Sirius' grandfather."

Hermione was aghast, "How could he not have had a trial?"

"The previous Minister … Bagnod … Bagnoldi … whatever, she had him chucked straight into Azkaban under emergency powers during the war. They never got around to giving him a trial and he's been an innocent man in prison all that time."

"That's horrible! Why didn't you get him cleared right away?"

Harry scowled as he replied, "Fudge was involved in his arrest and doesn't want to be any more embarrassed than he already is. He wants him kissed on sight by dementors! He thinks Sirius wants to kill me but that is bullocks. He's been really nice to me, even teaching me some of the Black family magic."

It was Ron's turn to be appalled. "But Harry, the Blacks are a really dark family! He'd be teaching you dark magic!"

Harry huffed before he gave Ron a serious look. "He's been teaching me about wards, how to detect and analyse them and even some stuff on how to create them. It's been fascinating! And not a bit dark!"

Ron didn't look completely convinced but all he said was "Oh."

Neville was perplexed. "Was he there during your birthday party?"

"No, he came later." Harry thought a moment and then continued, "About a week later I think. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, Neville, but it had to be kept secret to protect not only Sirius but the Greengrasses too. It would be awful if the Ministry found him there."

"I understand, Harry, nobody will hear about it from me."

"I know I can trust you guys, that's why I told you."

Harry was surprised at how gratified Ron seemed when he suddenly became aware of the parchment he had left out was trying to get his attention. He reached out and was alarmed to see the message it contained, written in a hurried script.

 **Someone has been trying to break into our compartment! Whoever it seems to have stopped.**

He quickly scrawled a reply.

 **I'll be there soon to check out the car.**

The other three were giving him worried look so he quickly announced, "I have to check out Daphne's car, someone tried to break into their compartment."

"I'm coming too!" came nearly simultaneously from Ron and Neville and Hermione expressed the same sentiment a moment later. It might have been funny but not now and Harry nearly drew his wand but refrained when he realised that he didn't want to cause a scene. With his new wand holster courtesy of Cyrus, he could now have his wand in his hand in an instant.

His main suspect was Malfoy, of course, so he headed to where he'd seen him last time. When he entered that car, he was surprised to see some Ravenclaw girls loitering in the hallway and looked away when he saw them eyeing him. He was slightly disconcerted to see Malfoy slumped in his seat and looking frustrated. He might have assumed the frustration was due to his recent failure but he and his bodyguards didn't have the manner of ones who had just returned from somewhere.

Harry was startled to hear a somewhat familiar voice say, "He's been sulking in there for over an hour. If you're wondering when he'll come to taunt you, I think he plans to skip that this year."

He turned to see that it was a smirking, tall blond who had spoken and she definitely looked familiar but it took a moment for her name to come to him. "Well, that's good news. Thanks, Turpin."

She smiled a bit too widely to be normal as she said, "Call me Lisa."

"Call me Harry." He wanted to reciprocate and seem friendly but her manner was putting him off a bit and he did want to check the next car where Daphne was. He nodded to her and her eyes followed him as he went through the car to the door at the end. The other three were behind him so the thought he could get away with a glance to see what she might be doing and was shocked to see that she seemed to be admiring his bum! He'd had no idea that girls checked out boys' bums but he had to admit, he had started noticing girls' bums – mainly Daphne's, of course.

The next car was quiet although a couple of boys were talking further down the car and after glancing at the new arrivals they seemed to be eyeing the compartment where Daphne was. Maybe he'd be lucky enough to have witnesses. He recognized one of the boys but didn't indicate that as the boy hadn't seen him. "Did something happen here?"

The closest boy regarded Harry for a moment before answering. "When I first got on the train, I thought I heard someone talking over there." He pointed to Daphne's compartment. "A couple of minutes ago, I saw flashes that might have been spells and came out to see what was going on. Then I saw a shimmer or a bit of distortion over there too. After that I heard a door shut but I didn't see which one." He appeared perplexed and then he shrugged.

The shimmer or distortion might be someone under the Disillusionment charm, one he had yet to fully master. He wondered if it might be from an invisibility cloak but an upper year who did the charm seemed more likely. Since Malfoy had an alibi, that left Harry with no suspects.

Harry wanted to be sure that things were clear so he swept the area around the compartment and found nothing. He suddenly felt a little silly as the boys would have no idea why he was there so he tried to distract them. "I wonder if it could be a ghost."

That got the boys talking animatedly and as they turned to leave he murmured to his friends, "That ought to distract them for a while. Reckon I just started a rumour?" He grinned at them as the boys quietly guffawed and Hermione rolled her eyes. His good humour evaporated as he wondered what else was going on that involved Daphne and then the watchful eyes of the girls in the next car unsettled him as well. That got him on a new tangent of thought. If girls were now checking him out, would they start trying to be his girlfriend?

That was a bit of a conundrum for him as although he'd like to say he already had a girlfriend, the next question would be 'who?' It was just his luck that he didn't dare answer that question truthfully. He'd have to figure out what to say in case it came up.

It was a rather confused quartet that returned to their compartment and they all sat down where they'd been before. He looked at his companions and asked, "What do you reckon?"

Hermione offered, "It was probably an upper year with a Disillusionment charm."

"That is what I was thinking, but there are dozens of upper years."

Nobody had an answer for that so he sighed in frustration and then said. "I thought it would have been Malfoy trying for round two with his invisibility cloak."

That got strong reactions from Ron and Hermione and he realized that he hadn't told them that story yet. He relayed that information as he wrote to Daphne that they'd found nothing but suspected an upper year with a Disillusionment charm.

* * *

Daphne put aside her parchment linked to Harry's and growled out her frustration. The chipper, teasing voice of her friend didn't improve her mood. "What's wrong, your boyfriend didn't find the culprit?"

"No, as a matter of fact he didn't. It was quite enough with Malfoy skulking around with an invisibility cloak but now we have some mystery upper year after us! There is nothing funny about this Tracey! He knew all of the counters to my spells! If we hadn't kept putting them back up when he took them down, he'd be in here right now doing who knows what!"

Tracey held up her hands at her friend's glare and spoke up quickly, her face turning solemn. "Whoa! I was just teasing. I know this is serious and I'm as worried as you are but we're safe now, aren't we?"

Daphne huffed and dropped her scowl and her head to stare down into her lap. "For the moment, yes but I wasn't expecting two stalkers! I hoped our biggest problem would be hiding who our boyfriends are."

"OK, now you're counting the goal before the quaffle clears the ring. Neville and I exchanged a few letters and agreed to talk in person when we could. Nothing is settled."

Daphne turned to her friend with a raised eyebrow and enquired, "I thought you were always the optimistic one."

Tracey looked a little uncomfortable before replying. "Usually I am. But this is kind of important – and risky, don't forget risky."

Daphne gave her friend a small smile and softly said, "But if he's the right one, it's worth it."

Tracey gave her a surprisingly hard stare as she demanded, "Who are you and what have you done with my friend Daphne?"

She really tried to keep a straight face but ended up giggling, much to her displeasure but at least Harry wasn't around to hear it. She got a hold of herself and sighed. "When it was just Malfoy, I was going to wait until tonight to write to my father but with two stalkers at work I am going to contact him now." She dug into her bag and removed the appropriate parchment then she began to ponder what to say.

* * *

As the weather worsened and the end of their journey was finally approaching, even Hermione had given up on reading and they were all sitting quietly, apparently all lost in their own thoughts. Harry was contemplating the beginning of a new year at Hogwarts but not looking forward to it as usual. He no longer needed a haven away from the Dursleys, he was not going to get as much time with his girlfriend and added to this he was missing Roxanne, Cyrus and Sirius too. On top of that, Malfoy was still acting up and now they had some mystery upper year up to something.

This was shaping up to be another eventful year at Hogwarts and Harry was starting to feel like he had had quite enough adventures in his life. He had a lot of people who cared about him now and that he cared about and this whole facing death thing was really getting old. Then he thought bitterly that whatever he wanted, trouble always seemed to find him even when he wasn't looking for it.

He was startled from his gloomy thoughts when the train started to slow down. His first reaction was to look out the window but all he saw was black, he then checked the time and realized that unless the train had gone faster than usual, and he hadn't noticed that if it did, they shouldn't be near Hogsmeade yet. He ignored Ron's comments about the feast to come as a feeling of dread began to come to him. When the train stopped abruptly and some baggage could be heard to fall and then Ron said he thought there were people entering the train, his dread increased.

Whatever this was, it wasn't normal and that just increased his unease, and knowing his luck this was shaping up into something bad. He had just flicked his wand into his hand when the lights abruptly went out so he cast Lumos with a bit more force than usual and had to squint in the bright light. It was so dark though that he decided to lift it higher and not try to lessen the glow. He still had to work on his magical control. He had improved after Robert's advice but there were times that he still had some issues.

He unlocked and opened the door to their compartment and saw some others with lit wands peering around as he was. He got the impression that something was coming their way from the car towards the front of the train when he finally noticed something specific that was amiss.

He felt a warmth blossom on his chest and it quickly occurred to him that it must be the amulet. However, he certainly wasn't in a situation where someone would be attempting Legilimency on him, he was surrounded by frightened students who wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to do it even if they knew it, which seemed unlikely in most cases. That must mean some sort of negative energy but there couldn't be dementors here, they were supposed to be around Hogwarts, that's what Cyrus had said and he swallowed nervously as he wasn't ready for this now.

His heart began to pound harder in his chest and he felt a surge of adrenaline hit him but that just made him cautious as he thought through his options. There was no reason for him to try to confront anything so he closed and backed away from the door but accidently jostled Ron who had come up close behind him. Ron sounded worried as he asked, "What did you see?"

"Nothing specific, I could feel something coming, something dangerous."

Ron sounded baffled. "Feel? What do you mean?"

He turned to look towards Ron and saw that Hermione was looking at him curiously too. He saw Neville and was a bit startled as he looked determined and was glaring towards the door with his wand ready. Neville felt it too so he swung back towards their compartment door as he heard a door close so he thought something must have just entered their car and he heard whimpers, a scream and shutting doors. He quickly shot the locking charm on the door and he wanted to be ready for whatever it was also so he took another step back and aimed his wand at the door.

He saw another wand appear in his peripheral vision and based on where it was, he assumed it was Hermione's. Nobody was wasting any time on talk now and suddenly a vague shape appeared at their door. The glare off of the glass, some ice that was appearing and the darkness in the aisle made it hard to make anything out but Harry got the impression of ragged clothes that made him think of Sirius momentarily. He shoved that aside as Sirius didn't look like that anymore and this was something dangerous but hopefully not a dementor, please don't let it be a dementor.

He still only had accomplished mist; he wasn't ready! The door rattled as whatever it was tried to get in and he heard a rumble that made him think of frustration. Then there was a hit against the door that startled them all and suddenly there was a flash and the door began to open despite his charm and Harry's Lumos spell began to grow weaker even though he hadn't consciously done anything about that spell.

He noted that fact absently but focussed on what was now about to enter their compartment. Despite the lesser light, the direct view confirmed the impression of ragged clothing although it was now discernible as a black cloak. He saw the skeletal hand that had opened the door and realized with a sinking feeling that it was exactly what he had feared, they were about to be face to face with a dementor!

It stayed where it was but he could hear something like it taking in a large, rattling breath and the temperature of the compartment lowered drastically and he could now see puffs of vapour coming from their mouths but not from the dementor. It seemed to float as it suddenly came towards Harry and he held tightly to his best memory of when Daphne had asked him to be her boyfriend and shouted "Expecto Patronum!"

Although the Dementor drew back when the white mist shot from his wand, Harry realized with dread that the amount of mist was less than his best, it really was harder to cast with a real dementor present! A strange rattling sound came from the dementor as the mist faded and Harry got the impression that he had angered the beast and his mind began to race. He had no alternatives, he had to cast the spell correctly or lose his soul!

Then his mind took a new, more frightening tangent. His friends didn't know the spell at all! He should have tried to teach them! Why would an angry dementor stop at one? All of their souls were in peril! Then he thought of Astoria who couldn't even produce mist and worst of all, Daphne who had only accomplished as much as him, which was now clearly insufficient. Suddenly, he realized he was beginning to feel hot and his magical flow had increased so much that he could feel it without even trying!

As the dementor started forward and a disgusting hand began to reach for him he let everything loose, he had nothing to lose. He thought of his friends and his new family and most of all, the girl so central to his life, he couldn't fail them! He brought the image of Daphne to the front of his mind as he dimly heard a woman screaming but he focussed on his own thoughts. _PROTECT US! SEND THE MONSTERS AWAY!_ Harry's ears rang with his shout of, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Harry had never felt anything like this before. His vision had dimmed and narrowed and he feared he was about to faint and his wand seemed to be bucking in his hand. He couldn't afford that now! Concentrate! Force the magic to flow! Dimly he heard an unearthly shriek and then a high pitched keening sound that hurt his ears and he hoped it was the dementor making those sounds. Suddenly, his vision improved and he became aware of some large, glowing animal ravaging something with – was that antlers?

Sirius had told him about prongs, had his father somehow sent his Patronus to save them? No, he was letting his mind wander; that must be his own Patronus, just like his father's. Then he noticed that the Patronus was gone and the lights were on again. He staggered forward and saw that the Patronus was in the next car already but couldn't see enough to know what was going on. As much as he'd like to follow it, he didn't feel able as he'd barely managed to get to the door, trying to follow farther was a bad idea.

He absently noticed that the amulet wasn't warm anymore and then his eyes were drawn to a pile of rags and bones in the aisle about where he'd last seen the dementor. Was it – dead?

He was still staring at the pile when a voice finally penetrated his consciousness. "Harry, are you alright?"

Harry turned to see the concerned face of Hermione and nodded his head affirmatively, not feeling up to speaking at that moment. Suddenly, two sets of hands were helping him back to the bench and he didn't try to resist, sitting down sounded good to him as he realized he was very shaky.

Hermione was right in front of him looking worried and frightened. "Harry? Are you really alright?"

Apparently, his nod hadn't been enough. He managed to say, "Just feel weak, very tired."

* * *

Astoria had been enjoying the train ride despite the horrible weather they were now enduring. She not only had been able to talk with her best friend Jessica, she felt that she had made some new friends with the other first year girls that had timidly trickled in to their compartment. A couple of boys might have been good but she now knew she should wait on that, there was no hurry.

When the train slowed, she was excited at first, assuming that they were reaching their destination. However, the abrupt stop that very nearly toppled a trunk from the rack was the first sign that something might be amiss. They ended up clustered near the windows and only Astoria and Jessica had their wands out, the others were too frightened and were crying. They had seen nothing but the sounds they were hearing were plenty foreboding on their own.

Then, Astoria was astonished when a giant, glowing stag poked its head though their door as if it didn't exist and looked straight at her. She felt warm and safe suddenly and somehow it almost seemed familiar. Then she remembered hearing about Harry's father's Patronus. Could it be like father, like son? She whispered, "Harry?" and with a quick nod, the Patronus left them behind and went somewhere else. Astoria still stared in wonder even after it had left.

* * *

As soon as Daphne realized that it was too soon to be arriving at Hogsmeade, she went on high alert. She reinforced her spells on the wall to the aisle of the train but was startled by something behind her when the windows to the outside iced over and something dark and ominous passed by. She quickly sent some spells at the outside and then the side walls, nearly in a panic. What in the name of Circe was going on here? Tracey gamely helped her but looked quite frightened and Daphne knew she wasn't far behind her best friend.

She wasn't sure of the passage of time as her state of high alert was messing with her perceptions a bit. When the door to the aisle iced over, she tensed and pointed her wand at the door. Her parents had warned her about the dementors but never mentioned them being on the train! She tried to focus on her and Harry kissing and attempted to prepare to cast the Patronus charm. She was startled to hear an inhuman shrieking that faded as she heard some crashes and then the feeling of cold began to dissipate.

Then an amazing thing happened, a large glowing stag came walking through the door and the ice disappeared in a flash and not only did she feel warm, she felt loved. It was if she was enfolded in her mother's arms – no, more like Harry's arms. Why was this thing making her think of Harry?

Then she felt like a fool, this was his Patronus and it was just like his father's! Harry had finally successfully cast the spell! She dropped her wand as it was unimportant now and she reached out to touch the glowing animal. It wasn't quite solid but there was something there and a feeling of being enveloped in Harry's hug nearly overwhelmed her.

Her voice sounded shaky and awed to her own ears as she said, "Oh, Harry, you finally did it! And it's amazing!"

She abruptly felt bereft as it faded away but her worry and fear did not come back, somehow she knew they were safe. She turned to look at Tracey as her friend asked, "Harry did that? What the bloody hell was that anyway?"

Daphne had to fight off a semi-hysterical giggle as she tried to reassure and inform her friend.

* * *

Remus Lupin slowly came awake, dimly aware of the fact that the train had stopped. He pushed himself up when he realized that he must have slept through the entire trip! He'd ridden the train in case something happened at the request of Dumbledore and now he felt guilty that he'd been slumbering the whole time.

His last transformation had been tough despite the return of Padfoot and he was recovering but still, he expected better of himself. He was puzzled as to why the lights were out when they suddenly came on. Then he realized he'd best change robes, Padfoot had wanted him to make a good first impression and he had to admit, these new robes looked much better than what he was wearing. He had only begun to remove his robes when he heard an eerie shriek and some crashes. What the hell? He dropped his old robes back in place and hurried out the door with his wand drawn; perhaps he'd be of use after all.

He was startled to see the window of the door to the outside broken, apparently by something exiting as there was no glass on the floor in front of him. He cast a quick Reparo and the glass was good as new, now the mystery was what exited the train with such velocity? Fortunately, it couldn't be a student as there was no sign of blood anywhere and he definitely would have smelled it.

He looked towards the other door and saw students beginning to peek out of their compartments but he also saw glass from the broken door window leading into this last car of the train. "Mind the glass," he said conversationally, trying to keep the students calm as he cast another Reparo which solved the broken glass on the floor issue.

It had seemed too cold for this time of year even for Scotland so he was suspicious that he was still missing something. "Did anyone see what happened?"

A shivering boy spoke up. "It was an awful creature that was wearing rags. I felt so cold, so awful."

Bloody hell, dementors! They weren't supposed to be on the train! He hesitated a moment as he frowned and then focussed on his hearing. He heard others moving about and talking similarly to the students in this car so the crisis was apparently over.

Could something have frightened dementors badly enough for them to break out through windows? Thanks to some foresight, he had plenty of chocolate gladly supplied by Padfoot, he went back for his sack full of chocolates and handed some out with explanations as he made his way through the car and into the next one. He continued on his way and still seeing no sign of a dementor himself, just students recovering from a terrible experience. He was relieved when the train began to move again as it was another sign the trouble was over but he had to finish his rounds and make certain.

He was moving through a new carriage when he sensed the presence of something dark, his augmented senses serving him well in that regard. He absently passed out more chocolate as he approached a pile of rags and bones on the floor. He'd never heard of a dementor dying before, but what he sensed was consistent with the remains of one.

He looked across the aisle and saw some frazzled looking students looking back at him so he opened the door and was surprised to finally see Harry but he looked exhausted. Without thinking, he asked, "Harry, are you OK?"

Harry was giving him a lopsided smile and said, "Just tired, Remus."

He handed him one of the chocolate bars and said, "Eat some of this, it helps you to recover from the effects of dementors."

As Harry muttered, "Thanks," Remus continued to distribute chocolate to the two other boys and the girl when he noted their confused looks. He was about to introduce himself when Harry beat him to it. "This is our new DADA professor, Mr. Remus Lupin. May I introduce Ron Weasley..." A red-headed, gangly youth nodded at him. "Neville Longbottom..." The other boy gave him a grin and a very brief bow, which he returned. There was no doubt about his identity as he reminded him of both of his parents. "And Hermione Granger." He bowed slightly but then shook hands as that is obviously what she expected so she must be the Muggleborn that he'd heard about.

The girl seemed slightly embarrassed. "We didn't realize who you were, Professor."

Remus chuckled and replied, "Don't worry about it, Miss Granger. School hasn't started yet and I haven't even put on my Professor robes. I'm always glad to meet friends of Harry's but I must be off. There are others who can probably use this chocolate."

"Of course, Professor."

He bid them all a quick goodbye and turned to finish his trek to the front of the train but was still close enough to hear Harry's friends quiz him on how he knew their professor already. He hid a grin as he continued on and even ended up giving the driver some chocolate, the poor fellow looked like he could use it.

When the driver informed him that they were now only minutes from Hogsmeade, he hurried back to finish changing. He may have blown his first chance at making a good impression with the students but at least once at the school, he really ought to look his best.


	11. Gang Aft A-gley

Chapter 11 Gang Aft A-gley

A/N: Does the chapter title seem familiar? Answer: "To A Mouse" by Robert Burns. Sentences in italics only are thoughts. A line all in bold without quotes is something written and the font is normal for Daphne, italics for Harry. Special thanks to Gam1ngAdd1ct for the suggestion and as usual, thanks to Shygui for being a great beta. This will probably be the last monthly update for a while, real life is limiting my writing time.

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space. - Johnny Cash

Cyrus Greengrass was not a happy man. Not only had he been alerted to the fact that his eldest had been subjected to spying by the Malfoy brat but some other unknown party had tried to break into her compartment, which was all bad enough. Then he found out that both of his daughters and his ward had been subjected to the life-threatening presence of dementors! What fuelled a lot of his anger was that he only knew of this due to his daughter, there had been no official communications whatsoever!

Just to top it off, when he arrived at the station with Dumbledore in tow, he found that they had not taken any precautions to keep the cold rain off the students and the two of them had placed umbrella shields over the entire area so both the returning students and first years would remain safe from the elements. What was the matter with the staff at this school? He was so angry that he couldn't even look at the headmaster.

He stood there ramrod straight with his Occlumency fuelled stoicism firmly in place. He would show none of his concern to the public but he would damned well be there to make sure all three of the children were indeed safe and well. He really couldn't understand this laxity about the safety of the magical children. He couldn't blame Dumbledore directly for the dementors but he would make sure that Dumbledore kept things in order that were under his control or he'd replace the man!

Finally the train had arrived and he saw students crowded by the doors, anxious to leave. As his eyes flicked among the students, he saw plenty of examples of stressed faces but none of the terror that he'd feared so perhaps something had gone right on the train.

He saw Harry first but although his eyes widened and he stared for but a moment, he remembered their plan, averted his eyes and passed them by. Very soon after and close enough to seem on purpose, he saw Daphne and Tracey together with a group of what appeared to be first years that included his youngest. Although most of the younger ones still seemed a bit frightened and wary, his girls appeared fine, in fact Astoria looked a bit enthused. She might have a bit of an adventurous spirit to her but he hoped she'd learn to control it; he already had quite enough excitement in his life.

He was proud when he saw his eldest direct the young ones off toward Hagrid and quickly embraced both girls when they came up to him. Aware of the headmaster standing beside him, he asked quietly, "Everything OK now?"

His eldest gave him a firm nod and with a look at her friend they proceeded towards the carriages but his youngest gushed, "You should have seen it, father! Harry's Patronus was magnificent!"

He tried to keep his façade impassive but he wasn't sure he completely succeeded. In all the excitement, he'd nearly forgotten that Harry had cast a corporeal Patronus, an amazing accomplishment. "That helped you recover then?"

"Yes, that was awesome, the chocolate helped too."

What? "Chocolate?"

"Yes, Professor Lupin gave everyone chocolate, it really helped."

"I'll have to thank this Professor Lupin then. Off you go."

She scampered off cheerily and Cyrus nearly shook his head at the enthusiasm and energy of youth. He was here, so he decided to stay and see this through. The presence of the chairman of the board of governors would show the magical public that at least he took this situation seriously.

A tall, red-headed boy with a badge appeared and approached Dumbledore and informed him of a rumour that the train was haunted. Since he wasn't being addressed, Cyrus continued to scan the children's faces and gave the appearance of ignoring the conversation. However, he did wonder what all had been happening on this train.

The next event of note was when they were approached by a man in new robes bearing the Hogwarts crest. Dumbledore greeted him with, "Ah, Remus! I'm so glad you agreed to be aboard, I've heard that the chocolate was quite efficacious." Lupin had apparently stayed until near the end so only a few stragglers remained. He turned and could also see that the Aurors that he had requested were waiting to enter the train, Madame Bones was most accommodating given that her niece was on the train as well.

He turned back as the new professor said, "Thank you, Headmaster." Although he seemed to focus on Dumbledore he saw his eyes flick in his direction in question. He thought he might have to introduce himself but Dumbledore finally remembered his manners.

"May I introduce Lord Greengrass, chairman of the board of governors of this school; this is our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin."

He saw Lupin's eyes widen as he bowed so Cyrus decided to put him at ease. He bowed back and then immediately extended his hand and said, "I am pleased to meet you, Professor Lupin. My youngest reports that your chocolate helped her recover, I am in your debt."

He had a very strong grip but then that is to be expected from a werewolf. He'd had some initial concern about a werewolf on staff but was reassured by both Lord Black and Harry that there was no danger involved and based solely on today's actions, Cyrus was inclined to agree. "Thank you, Lord Greengrass, but I was only doing my duty as I saw it."

"Accomplishments need to be recognized but I appreciate your humble attitude; some others here at this institution could do with a bit of that."

Lupin looked a little puzzled but he saw Dumbledore wince, the message had been delivered. Lupin began explaining about finding the remains of a dementor and although he found that interesting, Cyrus was a bit distracted by a high, girlish and very annoying voice when Lupin took his leave.

He turned to see that Dolores Umbridge was berating the Aurors and demanding that they leave. He couldn't allow this to occur so he let some of his anger to rise to his face as he started walking towards the still ranting Senior Undersecretary of the Minister.

He noted that Dumbledore was accompanying him and decided that the presence of the Chief Warlock wouldn't hurt a bit as he felt he could count on support in this matter. Dumbledore had better support him, in fact.

* * *

Dolores Umbridge was on the verge of panic; she had thought that being put in charge of protecting Hogwarts from the escaped Death Easter Black would be a plum assignment to put her name in the forefront of the political stage. One of her spies told her that the DMLE had sent two of their Aurors to investigate a dementor incursion on the Hogwart's Express! She fumed, the stupid brats weren't even in school yet and they were already causing her problems! She had to get up there immediately and begin damage control or this could end up sinking her rather than raising her up!

She might have been in too much of hurry with her apparition as she nearly fell over when she appeared on the Hogsmeade platform. She quickly looked around and felt lucky that nobody had seen her clumsy landing. She patted herself down for a moment to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be.

Then she straightened up and looked for who she needed to talk to. She first noticed two men facing away from her across the platform where the students were leaving the platform but neither of them wore Auror's robes but then she noted that one of them might be Dumbledore so hopefully, the old fool would stay turned away and not interfere. She assumed the other man was a professor and ignored him.

Then she saw a tall black man standing with a woman with – was that pink hair? What had happened to the Auror standards, to allow such foolishness? They were wearing Auror robes so she made haste towards them to put an end to this. If there were no investigation, then there was nothing to cover up. Simple!

When they turned to see who was calling them, she noted that the woman wasn't even a full Auror, but a mere trainee. This would be easier than she thought an ignorant immigrant and a trainee, she'd easily dismiss them on the spot!

Much to her chagrin, the man was no immigrant but an Auror that she'd heard of and from a family of the Sacred 28 to boot! She still kept on the offensive so as to be rid of them as soon as possible when she heard a somewhat angry voice ask a question.

"Madame Umbridge, might I enquire as to why you are trying to prevent an investigation?" She still felt that full-out attack was the best approach but when she turned to the man who had spoken, she suddenly recognized Lord Greengrass.

Then to make it just that little bit worse, one of her bitterest political opponents was standing next to him, two people she had never expected to see together under normal circumstances. She wondered how those two got together when she remembered that there had been a change of the guard at the post of chairman of the board of governors and she was facing the current occupant of that post.

So, the chairman and the headmaster were in accord on this and that might make things a bit sticky. Unfortunately for her, it got worse as the chairman was also the leader of one of the major factions in the Wizengamot and the headmaster was also Chief Warlock. She realized offense wouldn't work here, she decided that a change in tactics was in order, maybe a little appeasement and wheedling might get her what she wanted. She might even be able to turn this to her advantage with a little luck.

"Why, Lord Greengrass, I wasn't trying to interfere with an investigation, I was only trying to keep a child's prank from wasting valuable Ministry resources, that's all. It's ridiculous to think that one of our dementors would bother students on a moving train, why the idea is ludicrous!"

She laughed at her own jest but drifted to a stop as nobody even so much as cracked a smile. Lord Greengrass was glaring at her sternly and she had to suppress a nervous swallow. "Are you calling my daughters pranksters or liars, Madame Umbridge?"

She was blinking and wondering how to get out of that mess when Albus too-many-names Dumbledore had to stick his big, crooked nose into her business too. "I have it on good authority – from one of my professors, not a student – that there are the remains of dementor on the train."

Now she was at a loss of what to say. She'd never heard that a dementor could die much less be killed but she couldn't put this off as a student prank if a professor vouched for it. However, this still seemed unlikely to her so she decided to see if she could debunk the claim. She drew herself up to her full height, which was still noticeably much shorter than the two men and declared, "I will have to see that for myself!"

She maintained a confident demeanour as they entered the train and went down a few cars until they entered a carriage that looked like others to her until the four others stopped by a pile of rags and bones. She ignored a sense of menace she got from them and as scornfully as she could, denounced what they were looking at as a fraud. "It's obviously a malicious student's idea of a joke! It's merely a pile of rags and bones! There is nothing to investigate here!"

Despite her bravado, she couldn't bring herself to go nearer so she was standing somewhat back from the rest. She tried to look affronted and impatient to further push her agenda. She ignored some spells that Dumbledore was casting and huffed in impatience. Couldn't these fools see that they were wasting her time? She was a very important member of the Ministry, the second in command!

Dumbledore looked at her gravely and said, "I'm afraid you are mistaken, Madame Umbridge. These are indeed the remains of a dementor and I am most curious about how it came to die."

Back to plan A then! "Preposterous! I will not have you wasting my time or that of our Aurors. I order you two to return to the Ministry and as for you, Headmaster, I have no idea why you feel it necessary to perpetuate this fraud but I will not stand for it!"

Dumbledore was wasting one of his disappointed looks on her when his arm gave a small movement and she noticed the others' attentions snap to something behind her. She turned to see a dementor right behind her, with its hood coming down towards her head! She screeched and Apparated immediately and ended up falling over the coffee table in her living room with a crash and landing on something sharp. She struggled upright again and saw that she had managed to break one of her favourite kitten dishes. Could this evening get any worse?

With a sinking feeling she realized her attempts to prevent an investigation had failed, now she had to control access to the results and be ready to twist the facts on any leaks that may come from blabbermouth children – or headmasters. If she was lucky, all four of them would be kissed. On second thought, that would have to be investigated so she decided she'd have to hope for their welfare. However, there was no way she was going to risk her life for those idiots, they were on their own.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks had decided to become an Auror not only to serve her fellow citizens but also for the excitement. That motivation had dulled as she got field experience and realized that any excitement for her meant that someone had been hurt or worse yet killed. In reality she really ought to hope for boring shifts but then why would she be needed? Thus she found herself not wanting to build up any expectations for her time on duty at all.

Her shift began as usual; she arrived as the day shift was preparing to leave. There was nothing to turn over to her or her training officer so they went to their desks and did some paperwork, one of her least favourite aspects of the job. She finished what she had and when she saw that Shacklebolt was done as well they began to talk about some of his past cases, which was one of her favourite parts of the job while not in the field.

Then they got a message from the head of the DMLE herself, Madame Bones, which was directed to Kingsley. When she heard the words dementors and the Hogwarts Express In the same sentence, it felt like her blood had frozen in her veins but the message also said nobody had been hurt and she hoped that was true.

They appeared on the platform in Hogsmeade and Tonks took a moment to look over the castle and felt some nostalgia for her days as a student there. Her mind snapped back to her duties as she heard a high, girlish voice demanding to know what they were wasting their time doing there.

She was glad to let her training officer handle her when she realized who it was. She'd never met the Senior Undersecretary before but had heard nothing good about her and apparently what she'd heard was right; she was such a harpy!

She feared that they would have to go back without seeing anything when the Headmaster and some other bloke she didn't know came over and the other bloke somehow intimidated Umbridge into changing her tune. He was obviously more than some concerned parent and Kingsley whispered his identity to her as they trailed the others onto the train so there were certainly a lot of important people involved in this case.

She had never encountered an inert pile of anything that could feel so menacing before so she easily believed Dumbledore when he said it was what was left of a dementor. This was an interesting case and she nearly frowned at the harpy again when she demanded that they leave immediately.

Then she suddenly startled and nearly drew her wand when she saw a dementor behind the Senior Undersecretary. She barely managed to stop herself as she realized that it couldn't be a real dementor, there was no cold, no despair and no feeling of menace, she had been to Azkaban during training and knew what they were like; whatever it was only had the appearance of a dementor.

Her lips quirked when she heard the girlish scream of the Ministry official and had to suppress a laugh when Lord Greengrass peered around where she'd been and remarked, "I was hoping she had managed to splinch herself but no such luck." He then turned to the headmaster and remarked, "Nice way to get rid of her so we can get something done here."

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass, I do so aim to please. Well, I also have to check this train for any spirits that may be lurking and there was an incident between students that I have to investigate as well."

Her training officer then asked, "Is that something we should investigate as well?"

"I doubt it would be worth your time as nobody was hurt. Apparently, a couple of students had sealed their compartment and I would ordinarily put that off as paranoia but in this case, someone really was after them and attempted to break in. They failed and fled with nothing to show for their efforts, I see it as a school discipline issue." He then regarded Kingsley more closely and added, "Unless you disagree, of course."

Kingsley then looked at her and said, "We were informed of an attempted attack on Heiress Greengrass so that is part of the reason we are here so we will definitely take a look." He glanced at the dementor remains and added, "That isn't going anywhere and we should talk to the professor who was on the train as well."

Lord Greengrass then spoke up. "I'm sure the Unspeakables would be interested in the remains as well."

Kingsley nodded and agreed with Lord Greengrass. "Undoubtedly and I imagine this will spark more interest than Madame Umbridge would like since she is in charge of protecting Hogwarts from Black."

Dumbledore then quirked an eyebrow and remarked, "Indeed? How interesting."

* * *

Astoria had thought that Hogwarts would be an adventure and that was certainly true as even the train ride had been an adventure! On the other hand, the part right before she saw Harry's Patronus was rather scary and she couldn't say she'd like that to happen very often. She rode in a boat with Jessica and two other girls and Daphne had been right, the castle was quite the sight from out on the water they must do this on purpose to impress new students. Even knowing that, she was still impressed and eager to start. Even though she might have to talk some sense into that hat if it tried to sort her into the wrong house.

A couple of ghosts came in while they were waiting and tried to recruit them to their house but the Bloody Baron wasn't one of them. The Gryffindor ghost seemed like a bit of a fop to her, which seemed odd for a Gryffindor ghost and although it might be fun to be in the same house as Harry, she didn't really feel like that was her destiny. Finally they entered the great hall and the ceiling was just as interesting as Harry and Daphne had described despite the somewhat foul weather, although the occasional streak of lightning was sort of cool.

She looked around to see Daphne giving her a bit of a glare so she just smiled and waved at her which appeared to make her huff in irritation. Sometimes it was just so much fun pulling her sister's chain but she did have to be careful not to pull it too often. She was happy to get a wave back from Tracey and she sort of liked her, despite the whole Neville thing.

She wasn't paying a lot of attention to the sorting until she heard McGonagall's voice call out, "Baggins, Jessica!" She turned to her friend beside her and gave her a big and hopefully encouraging grin. Her friend swallowed and then marched up to the stool and placed the hat on her head. It took a few seconds for the hat to announce, "Slytherin!"

Well, that was it then her mind was made up that she was going to be a Slytherin and no patched up, tatty hat was going to tell her otherwise. She waited as impassively as she could manage until she heard, "Greengrass, Astoria!"

She walked confidently up to the stool, put the hat on her head and was surprised when the hat came down over her eyes, she should have tilted it back and she raised her hands to adjust it when she heard a small voice in her mind. _Another Greengrass, eh? A fine mind, ambition, loyalty and even bravery…. You're making this a bit difficult for me._

She thought back, _It's easy, really. Put me with my sister and my best friend. I'll do well in Slytherin like the rest of my family._

 _Possibly, although that is very loyal of you, a fine Hufflepuff trait but you have a keen mind and a love of learning; you could do even better in Ravenclaw._

Astoria huffed quietly, this hat was being difficult. _Look, hat. I'm trying to be nice here and tell you where to put me. If you put me anywhere else, there will be_ _ **trouble**_ _between you and me!_

 _Spoken like a true Gryffindor._

She also heard a chuckle from the hat, this was getting very irksome. _Yell Slytherin and you won't have to deal with me anymore. Yell it!_

 _You're certain?_

She sent a mental growl back. The hat chuckled again and then it finally yelled, "Slytherin!"

She got down from the stool and slammed the hat down on it which drew a sharp look from McGonagall and she tried to hide her chagrin. She might not be her head of house but she was the deputy headmistress so it wouldn't do to get on her bad side before classes even started _. Stupid hat._

* * *

Harry was simultaneously a little irritated and flattered at how his friends tried to take care of him. Hermione watched him like a hawk and Neville and Ron stayed close as if he might collapse at any moment. He might be extremely tired but he wasn't about to keel over, on the other hand it was nice that they cared so much. He deliberately waited until he saw Daphne and Tracey herding some first years that included Astoria before they joined the line to get out at the station. Just as his friends felt a need to fuss over him, he wanted to make sure his other friends were still fine with his own eyes.

He was so startled to see Cyrus waiting with Dumbledore that he nearly gave the game away before he remembered to be careful about revealing his Greengrass connection and continued on without a nod for Dumbledore, he still wasn't sure about him. He felt a little silly for being surprised as they trooped over to find a carriage, both of Cyrus' daughters had been exposed to dementors and any good parent would want to check on them once they knew. He realized that it also made sense for the chairman of the board of governors to take an interest in what happened to the students as well. Some adults actually cared, that was a good thing to become accustomed to.

The ride to the castle was disturbed by the presence of two dementors by the gates. Harry's hand tightened around his wand as they passed but the dementors seemed to ignore him and once they were inside the walls he finally relaxed. As they exited the carriage he saw a disgusted sneer from Malfoy; at least he hadn't visited this year but he couldn't help but show Harry once again what he apparently thought of him.

He hung back to allow Malfoy and his bodyguards to move ahead of them. Once they entered the castle and as he prepared to start up the steps, he saw two women waiting. One was his head of house and the other was Madame Pomfrey and he frowned slightly as he wondered what was up until he saw Pomfrey's eyes lock onto him. Great, she was going to check him even before the feast now? His eyes flicked to see that Malfoy was well ahead and unlikely to see any interaction he had with the two waiting women.

He was pleased to see that McGonagall only wanted Ron so he had only the resident healer to deal with. "Mr. Potter, I've heard you had a bit of an adventure on the train and wanted to check you out."

Harry shrugged but before he could utter a word she was waving her wand around him and studying the results. "You have an acute case of magical exhaustion, I will give you a note to show your professors for you to be excused from doing any magic for the next three days."

Harry opened his mouth to protest but she beat him to speaking. "Or, I could take you with me and keep you for three days, your choice." She gave him a challenging look and he decided that she was serious so he reluctantly conceded. She finished her note and gave it to him and said, "Exceptional choice. I hope to not see you in the hospital wing this year but I doubt I'll get my wish."

Harry decided to just give her a tepid attempt at a smile while being glad he wouldn't have to show this note to Snape and then he started towards the great hall and saw Hermione waiting with Neville and Ron seemed to be finishing up with McGonagall with a big smile. He must have gotten his class change approved, which Ron proudly confirmed as they made their way to the Gryffindor table. Harry was pleased as then he would have multiple friends in all of his classes and at least three with his girlfriend. Too bad that he'd have to stay away from her though.

He checked the Slytherin table and saw Daphne and Tracey in their usual spots but they weren't looking his way while Malfoy and his cronies were luckily quiet. The firsties started to enter and he finally spotted Astoria with a shorter girl keeping close to her, which must be her best friend Jessica. Her friend was called first but then he paused in his thoughts, did McGonagall say Baggins? Like in the books about the rings? He didn't realize that was a real surname – or at least real in the magical world.

He noted her friend going to Slytherin and he knew that is where Astoria expected to go but when it was her turn, it took longer than usual and based on her demeanour, he felt it was a safe bet she was arguing with the hat. She got her way but she was obviously displeased with the hat, returning it to the stool a bit forcefully but luckily, McGonagall didn't say anything. It would probably have been a new record to get points deducted or a detention before you even sat at your house table for the first time.

He was as ravenous as Ron when it was time to eat but he did make an effort to not make a spectacle of himself. Once he was full though, he was even sleepier and it would probably be a very long walk up the stairs to the tower.

* * *

As soon as they entered the common room, a prefect told Daphne that there was a house meeting and to remain in the common room until it was over. Usually, the talk at the beginning of the year was only for the first years to orient them so she wondered what this was about. She knew that her father had put Dumbledore on notice about the behaviour of certain professors and since Snape was one of them, perhaps he was actually going to clean up his act. She wasn't holding her breath on that and stood against a wall with Tracey as she didn't want to get entangled in the competition for the inadequate seating for the entire house at once. She was only a third year and didn't want to get involved in Slytherin politics if she didn't have to. Astoria decided to come stand near her so a cluster of first year girls formed in front of them.

They ended up waiting as Snape had yet to show so she checked on certain prominent upper years to gauge their reactions. Mostly they seemed bored or slightly irritated so she guessed they hadn't received any advanced briefing of what this was about. Then her eyes found Selwyn and she wondered again why her father had asked about her. He had brushed it off as mere curiosity but she doubted that was the truth. Could it have to do with Lord Black? She didn't see how she could be a factor for Harry.

She was still pondering that when Tracey whispered in her ear. "Don't look now but Rowle looks interested in you."

She suppressed a moue of distaste as she considered the large, ill-mannered fifth year. He was from a dangerous family so she kept well clear of him but she was prepared for unwanted interest from boys. She'd give him a taste of the ice queen if she had to but decided to take Tracey's advice and not actually look at him, it might encourage a prat like him if she did.

Their head of house finally swept in with his robes billowing behind him as usual and again she wondered if it was a charm that he used, it could be rather impressive. He gave them a mostly impassive look as his eyes swept the room, there was just a hint of distaste to his look. That was not the sort of look one expected from the professor that was supposed to be looking out for them but it appeared he was not ready to change. "The Headmaster ..." For some reason she couldn't discern, he did a dramatic pause. "... has ordered that the rules be more uniformly applied and that student safety is suddenly paramount. There will be no bullying..." Daphne hid a smile as Snape looked at Malfoy at that point, much to Malfoy's distaste. "... and that points and detentions must only be given for certain reasons that must be applied uniformly... regardless of house."

At this, he gave them a stern gaze as his eyes swept the room again. "I disagree that there is an imbalance to address." At this point, he looked right at her and she clamped down with her Occlumency hard and stared back stoically. "But that is not up to me. We are the house of cunning, I presume you are all smart enough to avoid trouble." Again he paused and she was quite sure the intent here was 'don't be caught', the slimy bastard wasn't going to really follow through, her father needed to know this.

"The first years will remain for orientation from the prefects, the rest of you are dismissed." He abruptly began to leave the common room.

Daphne was glad to retreat to their dorm, she'd had enough of her head of house for one day. Besides, she needed to contact her father and checking up on Harry seemed like a good idea too as he had looked so tired that she was a bit worried.

* * *

Remus was putting the finishing touches on some tea after perusing his new quarters. His long nap had reenergized him and he wasn't the least bit sleepy now that it was nearing time to go to bed. He wished he could have a do-over and not sleep for virtually the entire ride on the train. Not only would he be more ready to sleep now, he would have been able to help sooner when the dementors had stopped the train. It was a rather inauspicious start for his new job and he was quite disappointed in himself.

He was a little surprised to hear a knock at his door. He doubted that a student would be approaching him before classes, perhaps it was a teacher or Dumbledore coming to welcome him. He opened the door to see Dumbledore all right but it wasn't a simple welcome as he saw Lord Greengrass, whom he had just met for the first time that day and two Aurors with the Headmaster, they must be the same two he'd noticed waiting on the platform. This was most likely an interrogation regarding the dementor incident and he was not looking forward to it as he had little to say due to his untimely and overly long nap.

"Remus, we would like to talk about what happened on the train. I will allow the Aurors to go first. If there is any school-related issues after that, Lord Greengrass and I will cover them once they are done."

He didn't have enough chairs for everyone but even before he could get his wand out, Dumbledore had solved the issue and Remus retreated to his own chair and waited for the first question. The male Auror spoke first, he was tall and of African descent with a deep voice that rather commanded attention. "I am Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and this is Auror Trainee Nymphadora Tonks." Remus noted a wince from the woman and he wondered what that was about but abandoned that question when the man continued. "I will first set up a dict-a-quill to record our conversation."

He proceeded to that and with the quill poised over a roll of parchment, he spoke again. "This is Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt interviewing the witness Remus Lupin. We were sent to investigate the incident with the dementors on the Hogwarts Express so I will start with that first. What can you tell us about what happened on the train earlier today?"

Remus suppressed a nervous clearing of his throat as he didn't know how the dict-a-quill would react to it. He then gave a detailed account of what he heard and saw from the moment he woke up until he reached the driver of the train. He noted the man was nodding approvingly and the woman was mostly staring at him and it made him feel rather nervous. He wondered if she knew about his condition and was curious about him as she didn't appear to be repulsed.

There were a few clarifying questions from the Senior Auror but he had nothing to offer on the attempted break-in as he'd been entirely unaware of it although he could confirm that there had been a sealed compartment in the third car that hadn't responded to his knock. With that, the Aurors withdrew but he noted that the woman kept an eye on him right up until she closed the door behind her. It was enough to make him uneasy but he still had two visitors and pushed that from his mind.

Dumbledore turned to Lord Greengrass and asked, "Did you have any questions?"

The stoic man shook his head 'no' and remained silent. Dumbledore turned to him and then added, "I feel you covered everything quite well with the Aurors so I have no questions about that. There was a rumour about a ghost on the train, do you know anything about that?"

Remus felt gobsmacked as that was a new one. "No, I had not heard that rumour nor did I see any sign of any sort of spirits."

"I doubt there was any as I found nothing in my investigation. I think we need to find the witness and see if it involved the sealed compartment. Someone trying to break in while under a Disillusionment charm might be mistaken for a spirit."

Remus nodded his agreement and rose when the other two men did. As Dumbledore vanished the conjured chairs, Lord Greengrass bade Remus farewell and went for the door. Dumbledore slowly followed but leaned back in before passing through the doorway and quietly said, "We suspect that young Mr. Malfoy has an invisibility cloak so be alert. Also, don't worry about the way Ms. Tonks was looking at you, it's merely the way someone watches someone else that they find attractive." Dumbledore's eyes sparkled and he seemed to have a small grin as he departed.

Again, Remus felt taken aback; was Dumbledore simply teasing or did he really believe his theory? The more he thought about it, the more he concluded that the old man was teasing him. She was a trainee so she had to be at least ten years his junior and he was under no illusions about his appearance; he wasn't the sort to attract a lot of female attention.

Then the name Tonks came back to his mind, it certainly seemed familiar but he couldn't put his finger on why. Then it hit him, hadn't Sirius' oldest cousin married a man named Tonks? Had he just met one of Sirius' relatives? He'd have to ask his friend about that when he got a chance.

As for Dumbledore himself, he had nothing to report to Sirius yet. Except for teasing him just now, the headmaster had been very hands-off with him. They had consulted in a very business-like way on the DADA curriculum but there had nothing suggesting any suspect motives or plans on Dumbledore's part. He'd watch the old man and Harry as he'd been asked and pretend to still be loyal to Dumbledore but so far he had nothing to show for it.

* * *

Harry was surprised when Dobby popped in and insisted on putting his things away and he was so tired he agreed just to be done more quickly. He noticed the curious looks of Dean and Seamus but neither of them spoke up so he left for the bathroom to get ready for bed. He came back in his pyjamas and Dobby took his dirty clothes immediately. When Harry went to close his trunk, he saw the package that Sirius had given him just before he had left.

Sirius had instructed him not to open it until tonight and he'd been very curious but he was so tired he almost skipped it altogether. He gave a tired sigh, deciding just to do as had been asked. He took the package and the parchment linked to Daphne with him into bed closed the curtains and ejected his wand into his hand. It was the lack of the usual warmth of his wand in his hand that reminded him he wasn't supposed to do any magic for three days. Even though he had spent most of his life ignorant of magic, not being able to do it now really stung and he gazed sadly at his wand for a moment. He disappointedly let his holster retrieve the wand and he called on Dobby to seal and soundproof the curtains for him.

It wasn't until he was about to open the rather flat, oblong package that he considered the possibility that it was some sort of prank from his godfather. He was alone so as long whatever it was would be gone by morning, nobody would know and he didn't think his godfather would do anything that long lasting.

He opened it with some caution and was amazed to find an old hand mirror with a note saying simply 'say Padfoot'. It might still be a prank of some sort but this was getting intriguing and he was glad he'd decided to open it. He looked in the mirror and said, "Padfoot."

The reflected image changed to a dull grey and he wondered what was going on. A few seconds later, Sirius' grinning face appeared in the mirror and Harry nearly dropped it in shock. "Pup! You finally opened it! Surprise!"

He briefly wondered if it was some sort of recording but it seemed live. "So we can talk to each other and actually see each other whenever we want?"

"Exactly, this is something your father and I came up with, well, with a little help from Moony, so we could talk during detentions. I've missed so much time with you that I figured we needed to keep in touch while you're at Hogwarts. What do you think?"

Harry was amazed and very happy. "I think it's brilliant!"

Suddenly, Sirius looked very concerned and solemn. "Cyrus told me about the dementors boarding the train. Are you really OK?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. The Patronus took a lot out of me. I think I may have errr… overpowered it a bit?"

Now Sirius looked shocked. "Patronus? Did you cast a corporeal Patronus?"

Harry was beginning to feel embarrassed so he tried to downplay it. "Yeah but I threw everything I had into it. I guess I panicked a bit and I should have been more careful."

"Harry, that's amazing! I was impressed with the mist! Never feel bad about how a dementor affects you. Nobody knows more about those monsters than I do. They shouldn't exist! I wish there was a way to kill them."

This was getting worse but he decided to admit what he suspected. "I may have accidentally killed one. There was only rags and bones left of it." He'd left his godfather speechless but when he recovered he told Harry to get some sleep and they could talk another day.

Harry was all for that and he was getting the parchment ready when it glowed and Daphne's neat script appeared on it.

 **Harry, are you still awake?**

 _ **Yes but I'm in bed and really tired. We should arrange to talk tomorrow.**_

 **Agreed. Usual room, say 7:30?**

 _ **Sounds good.**_

 **See you then. Sweet dreams.**

Harry blushed and then decided to keep it short.

 _ **Goodnight.**_

* * *

Draco Malfoy was nearly the last one to head for the dorms, even Crabbe and Goyle had left a while ago. He was feeling the pressure of his situation and he was left with two idiots and a sorry excuse of a half-blood godfather to work with. That miserable half-blood had even looked at him when talking about bullying, the nerve of the man! He was merely putting people in their place, bullying was something else entirely and the prat couldn't tell the difference!

He'd been watching the oldest Greengrass and he had to admit she was more than just looks. She was careful and devious, she wasn't easy to spy on and catching her unaware to interrogate her wasn't a good bet either. However, her little sister had stood near her and she was only a firstie. She was not vigilant and much more helpless; she should have been his target in the first place but he realized his error now and would get it right. He'd be watching the little Greengrass carefully from now on, it was only a matter of time and he'd have what he needed.

* * *

Harry was ravenous again that morning but had to cajole Ron into getting up and had to threaten to leave without him to finally get him out of his bed. The three boys trooped down the stairs to the common room and found Hermione waiting, her nose in a book of course. When they got to the great hall, Harry checked the Slytherin table with as much subtlety as he could muster and was disappointed not to see his girlfriend.

Before he could fill his plate, Hagrid came in distractedly twirling a dead polecat, an odd thing to bring to where people were eating in Harry's view. He seemed to ignore Harry as he talked mainly with the other three with him and Harry wondered if Hagrid felt deliberately slighted by the fact that he hadn't taken his class. Once Hagrid finished lamenting that the class wouldn't be able to meet the creature he was introducing as Dumbledore had forbidden it, Harry took his chance.

"When we were picking our classes I didn't know you'd be the creatures professor, Hagrid. I might have taken it if I did but I chose classes more suited to what I thought I'd be doing later in life."

Hagrid looked relieved and spoke directly to Harry for the first time. "Don't worry on 'er none, Harry. Tha's what yeh should do af'er all." Then he looked at the group and said, "See you lot la'er." Then he ambled off towards the head table, still twirling the polecat.

He was starting to eat when he saw her blond hair and had to hide a smile but he didn't fool Hermione a bit as she looked at him knowingly so then Harry had to hide a blush. He had to do better than that, if he was obvious and got Daphne into trouble he would never forgive himself. He was brought from his thoughts when McGonagall came around with their schedules. He saw that he had Arithmancy first and right after breakfast in fact. The classroom was on the seventh floor where their dorms were but now they had to go all the way back up again.

He was distracted as Hedwig came for a visit and she really seemed to enjoy the bacon he gave her. She also seemed to savour the way Hermione was stroking her. He hid a smile as he thought about how much Hedwig enjoyed attention. As students began to depart for class, she flew off and Harry and friends joined the throng.

The foursome broke off to separate destinations as Ron and Neville had free periods while Harry and Hermione had to go to class but at least they could go back up to the seventh floor together. When they entered the classroom, only a couple of Ravenclaws were there and one of them, Padma, gave him a shy grin with a hint of a blush. He really needed to talk to Daphne about how to handle interested girls, he was wildly out of his comfort zone right now.

He'd never paid much attention to Professor Vector, she generally seemed a bit like McGonagall with her demeanour and the red outfits she normally wore were a bit intimidating. Others began to filter in and eventually Daphne and Tracey entered together and sat on the other side of the classroom. She'd never looked towards him that he could see but he was sure her seating away from him was deliberate. It was all part of the plan but he still didn't like it and he had to force himself not to look her way. He was suddenly glad she was farther away as her being close would be a powerful distraction.

Once Professor Vector started class it was easier to concentrate on the lesson rather than consciously not looking at Daphne. As she tried to assess what her new students knew, he was proud that the two who answered the most questions were Daphne and himself. Although Hermione looked pleased and proud at his newfound class participation, he also got the feeling as the class wore on she was becoming a bit withdrawn and distracted, quite unlike herself. When they got their homework at the end of class, which consisted of a bunch of problems, he heard a few groans but he smiled as this wouldn't take him long. It was all fractions and simple equations, which were all problems he was already familiar with so this was going to be easy.

They had transfiguration next and that classroom was rather far so they headed out immediately, just ahead of the Slytherins that Harry was trying so desperately to ignore. Once they were in a more private situation in the hallway, Harry asked Hermione if there was something wrong but she denied that there was. Harry felt like that wasn't the truth but decided not to push for now.

Neville and Ron were already there so Hermione and he automatically sat with them. Then he remembered that he had to show McGonagall the note but she already knew and said there would be no practical that day. Ravenclaws were filtering in next but the rest of the Gryffindors were almost late and the girls seemed a bit out of breath. At first Harry didn't notice anything odd but slowly he became aware that his fellow Gryffindors were unusually quiet and glancing at each other, Seamus seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact altogether, which wasn't like him at all.

Harry's attention shifted immediately to McGonagall when she began to lecture about Animagi, something he had great interest in since meeting Sirius. He applauded with his friends and most of the Ravenclaws when she changed into her cat form but the rest of the Gryffindors were still very distracted.

When she returned to human form she peered at the Gryffindors in the back of the class and asked, "Is there something wrong? You seem so quiet today."

Harry turned to focus on them and saw a lot of exchanged glances until Lavender Brown nervously cleared her throat and said, "We just came from Divination and well, Professor Trelawney… well, she…."

"Say no more, Miss Brown. Tell me, who is it who is supposed to die this year?"

Seamus tried in vain to be inconspicuous but eventually raised his hand and softly said, 'That would be me."

McGonagall huffed and earnestly declared, "Don't worry Mr. Finnegan, she has predicted the death of a student in her first class for third year every year and they are still quite alive. She seems to feel it is appropriate to start you off with a death omen for some reason known only to her."

She then looked a little less disapproving as she remarked, "You still look healthy to me, Mr. Finnegan so I expect you to do your homework. If you do happen to die, it will be OK not to hand it in."

That got nervous laughter from a majority of the class and they were finally able to settle in and finish listening to the lecture on self-transfiguration. Harry enjoyed it a lot and didn't moan about the writing assignment on Animagi. He wondered if it would be considered cheating if he talked to Sirius about it before he wrote it and decided that it wasn't.

At the end of class, she held the Gryffindors back and asked for their Hogsmeade permission slips. Harry deliberately waited until last as he wasn't sure what her reaction would be to Sirius' signature on his slip. He'd been chosen not only to hide the Greengrass connection but also because he'd been higher on the custody list in the will.

She looked at the slip and softly said. "Albus told me he was innocent, it was a relief to hear that. If you happen to be able to communicate with him, could you send my apology for believing the worst of him? I'm rather embarrassed by that in retrospect, I should have known better."

Harry didn't want to give anything away so carefully replied, "I'm sure he'll understand, a lot of people believed it."

He breathed a small sigh of relief when he joined his friends to head down for lunch. Harry felt odd when the other three in his group were getting ready for their first Care of Magical Creatures class while he had a free period, he almost considered trying to add it but then remembered why he hadn't added it before as he had plenty of other things to worry about.

He followed them out and stood well behind everyone else but Hagrid was still tall enough to see him there and gave him a cheery wave, which Harry returned. It was fairly interesting lecture about hippogriffs and then he showed them one, which seemed awesome. Hagrid kept everyone well back from the fence and only Hagrid approached the animal. After bowing back to Hagrid, they seemed quite chummy and Harry shook his head in wonder, only Hagrid would have a pet hippogriff.

* * *

Tracey watched her friend as she looked down from the Astronomy tower towards the Creatures class near the forbidden forest. Tracey was barely able to make out Harry but her friend seemed to be fascinated despite the distance and lack of visible detail. Her friend had it bad and she was struggling to keep from teasing her. When her friend turned and released her spell on the door, she took great care checking for anyone on the stairway and then started leading the way down.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to go down and see him better?"

Daphne huffed softly before replying. "I can't risk being seen watching him, you know that Tracey."

"Then why risk this?"

Her friend avoided looking at her and remained silent so she had her answer. Tracey sighed and wistfully said, "I hope my talk with Neville goes well. Maybe I'll know what it feels like."

* * *

She knew she was acting like a love sick puppy but she couldn't seem to do anything about it but Tracey was fortunately going easy on her or she'd really be losing it. She showed up early and had come without her school robes as she was feeling hot enough without them. She found herself too energetic to sit so she was pacing around the room until the door finally opened.

She had planned on a much calmer welcome, instead she found herself hurtling towards him and immediately kissing him for all she was worth once she was in his arms. It wasn't until she caught herself trying to get his robes off (why was the silly boy wearing them anyway?) that she knew she had to back off. He'd started to get rather heated with his mouth and had wandering hands too.

This was getting out of control! She was almost panting as she finally applied the spells to the door and they settled into their desks. She felt guilty as she saw how flushed Harry was and how he seemed to have difficulty getting comfortable in the chair but that was probably just nerves – because of her. Her mother had tried to warn her about this and now she was forced to admit the truth – there was a marriage bond forming between her and Harry.

She was past the 'my choice is being taken away' reaction she'd had at first as she knew deep down that she would choose Harry in any case. All she had to do now was figure out how to deal with the urges that came with the bond. Part of her was practically screaming that it was too soon and her mother's advice was the same.

She could use her Occlumency to completely shut this down but she couldn't bear to show the ice queen façade to Harry, it wouldn't be fair to him plus she had already made that mistake and didn't care to repeat it. She had to find the place in between where she'd have more control but still show Harry the attention and affection he deserved from his girlfriend. Simple, right? Sure, and Riddle will become the Muggle Studies Professor when he returns.

Harry was looking way too nervous, she needed to explain so he wouldn't jump to any conclusions. "Sorry if I mauled you. I just missed you and sort of got carried away." He was giving her his crooked I'm-trying-to-look-happier-than-I-am smile so her stomach squirmed with guilt.

"Daphne, I'm not really complaining or anything, it's just that I'd like a little warning next time."

He still looked sheepish and uncomfortable so she had to try again. "Neither of us should do anything to make the other uncomfortable but I have obviously done that to you so I'm sorry. I will control myself better in the future."

She noticed a positive shift in his demeanour but he still looked nervous so she reached out her hand and took his gently. "We're still OK, aren't we Harry?" Now Harry looked shocked.

"Yes, of course! I mean I kissed you back and all. It was… exciting."

At least from her perspective, that was a massive understatement and a chuckle slipped out before she could stop it. "Just being with you is exciting." For a moment, she felt she might have overshared but he only nodded his agreement so she relaxed.

She didn't have a lot of news but just talking with him about safer subjects was relaxing and fun. She let Harry leave first and thought about her dilemma with the bond. She sighed and realized she probably needed some more advice from her mother, she'd best write to her soon.

* * *

Harry almost felt like his head was still spinning so he put his cloak on and ambled slowly towards Gryffindor tower. He was still a bit in shock over what had happened when he entered that room. They had kissed a lot before but never that _intensely_. Once he got over his surprise he had responded rather aggressively and he was still coming to terms with how his hands had wandered over her; he'd been very afraid that Daphne would have been offended even though he was pretty sure she had tried to take off his robes. He was still a little fuzzy on the details as he'd been rather focussed on what they were doing with their mouths and what he was feeling.

One of the few things he had taken to heart from what Sirius had told him was that a gentleman allows the lady to set the limits. He had started to feel like he'd crossed that line but then Daphne apologized to him and he began to calm down. What had made him the most uncomfortable was something that had only happened mildly that time she sat in his lap. It was rather more obvious and forceful this time around though.

He'd learned about erections in health class in Muggle school so he knew what it was and also he'd had his first when Daphne was in his lap. However, that had been rather mild and he was quite certain she hadn't noticed, which would have been humiliating. He was very glad he wore his robes for this meeting as otherwise, he was sure she would have noticed it this time. The darn thing had gotten so hard and bunched up in his underwear he'd had trouble sitting down in a comfortable position until it finally subsided.

He felt a little overwhelmed and unsure how to control things better for next time (Merlin, he really hoped there would be a next time!) but without the embarrassment if such a thing is possible. Getting advice from Cyrus was completely out of the question and definitely not Roxanne. It had to be Sirius and he just hoped he got some useful advice and an absolute minimum of teasing. He was **so** not looking forward to this.

He knew he was stalling for time as he dragged out his preparations for bed but he was finally alone with the mirror on his bed with all of his privacy precautions up with the eager assistance of Dobby. Now he just had to start the connection and hope for the best but it still took him a few seconds before he said, "Padfoot."

* * *

Things were going much better for him and he should be happy for the most part. Certainly, he was still a wanted man with a horrible fate awaiting him if he were caught but that was unlikely here. Two things were bothering him though: first, he had to stop imposing on the Greengrasses as they were not only still hosting him but had to keep taking him through their wards when he returned such as when he checked on Kreacher and his house the previous day. It had seemed to be a good thing to do to distract himself while Harry was on the train but it just reinforced that he had to make a change of residence as soon as he was able.

The second thing that bothered him was much more complicated: Sami. Certainly, he'd considered her a friend back then though they hadn't kept in touch with things being so busy for both of them back then. He knew it was time for him to recover from the loss of Marlene and start trying to settle down with someone else and continue the Black line. The problem was the situation as she was his healer for Merlin's sake! He shouldn't be going after his healer and that seemed like a rather obvious thing to him.

She had hinted at continuing some sort of association after she released him, which might be soon based on her praise of his progress. Could he really get past Marlene and commit to a new woman? Was he being fair to Sami? Was he really reading her intentions right that she might be open to real dating?

He was startled when his mirror flashed that he was getting a call. He felt a little guilty at his relief from having to ponder such imposing issues but being there for his godson was important too. He had a genuine smile on his face as he looked at Harry's image in the mirror and said, "Hello, Pup! I'm glad to hear from you so what is going on?"

"Hi, Sirius. I was ummm… I just wanted to ask…."

He stifled a chuckle, this must be in a real awkward situation, given that Harry appeared to be quite serious. So this wasn't the time for levity, which was unfortunately his go-to default for dealing with tension. He gave Harry an earnest look and said, "Unless this involves Voldemort it can't be too horrible. Just tell me at your own pace, I have nowhere else to be and I'm listening." He saw a lot of the tension leave his godson's face and a real smile appeared so he knew he'd made a good start. Maybe he was really going to be OK at this whole godfather thing.

"OK, well, I was just with Daphne and we… errr… well, things got a little intense and…." Harry paused to huff and regather himself and Sirius knew that they'd be revisiting that talk they had during the summer. This time he resolved to not go with stories but to really give some good honest advice so he waited patiently.

"Ok, I'm going to just come out and say this so please no teasing, OK?"

His pup looked a little desperate so he gave him a solemn nod and internally reminded himself to refrain from humour.

"Well we were kissing and our hands sort of wandered a bit and… I got an erection and it got caught up in my underwear and it was so embarrassing and uncomfortable. I was hoping you might have some advice…."

Oh, the stories and jokes just streamed through his mind but he rejected them all as they wouldn't help his pup.

"As you hopefully already know, that is a normal reaction. My advice is to… make sure to adjust things before you meet her. Make sure your wand has room to expand and it won't get bunched up. You're wearing boxers now, right?"

Harry gave an embarrassed, hurried nod so he continued right away. "Good, the tighter kind of underwear would always be an issue. In fact, you might want to start doing that every day as you never know when some bird might catch your eye and things might start happening when you don't expect it. It should become a basic precaution for you."

Harry looked a bit outraged and he wondered what he'd done wrong, he'd thought he was giving good, serious advice. "I don't look at other girls!"

He hadn't meant to imply he had a wandering eye but boys his age…. Another thought came to him, they had a bond and he was probably feeling attached enough to consider them exclusive and that he shouldn't have any attraction to other girls. Personally, Sirius considered it unlikely that Harry literally did not look at other girls but then he was never fully under the marriage bond and it was possible that would be a side effect. He might have to look that up.

"Most boys your age could react to a lot of birds but if you're exclusive with Daphne, that's fine too but slightly unusual for your age. You do see Daphne pretty much every day, right?"

Harry nodded so he added, "So make it a habit, Harry. Make sure your wand has a little room just in case." He'd managed to resist saying something different that he didn't think his godson would appreciate. The sacrifices one had to make to be a responsible adult! Maybe this was an end of an era and it was time to stop trying to be a Marauder all of the time. Even Sirius Black has to grow up someday.

* * *

Cyrus watched as Roxanne entered their bedroom with a determined stride and he immediately knew something was up but her manner only showed a serious demeanour so he didn't have much to work with. She slowed as she approached him and her eyes softened as they met his so he knew it wasn't going to be bad, whatever it was. "It's been about a week now, I think it's time I paid him a visit."

He nodded his acknowledgement and murmured, "Be careful."

A small smile appeared on her face as she said, "I always am. I won't be long." She gave him a quick kiss and then left with as much determination as she had entered. She was an amazing mother and wife and he truly loved her but she was also the scariest witch he knew. He was very glad he was back in her good books and he was determined to stay there.

* * *

Vernon Dursley lay still but wide awake on his thin, uncomfortable cot in his cell, pondering how it was that his life had turned to hell. He was still convinced that he'd only taken what he was due and with the aid of the CFO on top of that! Yet here he was the one in the cell and the one who had led him astray was free as a bloody bird.

He discounted his barrister's point that he'd not saved enough of his money to pay his bail while the CFO had. He was paying that charlatan to get him out of this, not to criticize him! Suddenly, an odd feeling ran through him, something was happening and more importantly, he was no longer alone.

He sat up as quickly as his bulk allowed and found an attractive blond woman staring at him from within his cell. As much as he might have wished that he had fallen asleep and was at the beginning of a very pleasant dream, the fact that the woman was looking at him like he was a bug to be crushed under her shoe told him otherwise. Peering around, he also noted that nothing else had changed, there was nobody else around and the door to his cell was still shut. There seemed to be no way she could have entered here without him knowing so he wasn't certain how real this was so he remained silent.

Suddenly, the strange woman spoke. "I think it is important that you know why."

He blinked in confusion but she just kept staring at him as if he was loathsome. He narrowed his eyes and wanted to demand to know what was going on but he felt like he didn't even know where to start. She was just a woman though so he stood so that his greater height and weight would be evident, perhaps he could intimidate her. His voice was raspy as he asked, 'Why what?"

He really didn't like how she was starting to smile at him. "Why you are here, of course, and why I made sure you ended up here."

Now he had a target for his wrath. "YOU! You did this to me?! Who the bloody hell are you!? GUARD!"

Her chuckle sent a chill down his spine and he went silent again. Something about this woman was suddenly making him very afraid.

"They can't hear you. Even if you screamed until you could scream no more, nobody would ever hear you."

Screaming? Why was she talking about screaming? He didn't realize he was backing up until his back hit the wall. He stared at her, wondering what she was going to do. She slowly and silently moved closer and he thought it might be like a predator might stalk its prey.

His heart was beating so strongly it was painful and he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears as he contemplated what she might be planning based on bringing up screaming and he swallowed nervously, his throat suddenly very dry. "Y-you're one of them, aren't you?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "One of who, exactly?"

His voice was quieter than he intended. "A w-witch. You're one of that m-magical lot that has been making m-my life hell."

He instantly regretted saying that as she snarled and brandished her wand at him and he was very much afraid of what she could do with it. "Do not speak to me of us persecuting you," she hissed with her voice full of fury.

"Most of us don't even know you exist! A misguided old fool gave you a precious gift, a magical child from a wealthy family who would have gladly shared with you if you had given him a good home! Instead, you treated him like a slave! You ABUSED HIM!"

He had nothing to counter her rage, his meagre courage already spent. Her face looked feral and she seemed to be just barely controlling herself. Her wand was pointed directly between his eyes and he found himself too scared to move. His leg felt wet so he was pretty sure he had managed to piss himself. He was more than half convinced that he was about to die. She withdrew her wand slowly and held it ready but no longer pointed at him but before he could relax, she spoke again, still with great anger.

"He may not be family by blood but I swear by all I hold dear that he is family! Your nephew is under our protection now and you will never, ever see him again. My initial decision was to let the Muggle authorities have you but I warn you now, Vernon Dursley, if their justice does not satisfy me I will be back and you will not enjoy meeting me again. Do you understand?"

She practically snarled the last part and he couldn't even attempt a nervous swallow, much less speaking nonetheless he did try to speak, he really did but his mouth just wouldn't work. He certainly didn't want to make her any angrier so he nodded emphatically instead. She smiled again but it just made him quiver as it was not the sort of smile anyone would want to see. Suddenly, without a sound and without any apparent movement, she was gone.

He took a deep shuddering breath and finally managed to shakily move away from the wall and take stock of his surroundings. Everything was exactly as it should be, there was no sign that anyone had ever been here. Only then did he once more feel his pants sticking to his leg and looked down and had to bend over due to his belly.

Bloody hell, he had pissed himself as he'd suspected. He began to wonder if the woman had ever been there at all. After further thought, he wondered if it even mattered as they must be able to do things that he couldn't even imagine. All he knew is that whatever or whoever that was, he never wanted to see her or it again.

Was the boy rich? The possibility of that had never crossed his mind. He then pushed that thought away as there was no chance of him getting his hands on any of the boy's wealth now, not with that lot standing between him and the boy. He looked around his cell once more and contemplated the possibility that this might be the safest place for him to be, despite how bleak and depressing it was.

Was it really his fault? Had his own actions brought him to this end? He didn't want to believe that but the darkness and isolation was covering him like something palpable and all of the horrible things he had ever imagined seemed possible now. He had to fight the urge to look behind him, as if she might be stalking him right now.


	12. Family Business

Chapter 12 Family Business

A/N: A line all in bold without quotes is something written while something all italics are thoughts. Many thanks to my excellent beta Shygui and a big thank you to all of my readers and especially reviewers for making this a pleasant experience. My story recommendation is "Harry Black Book 1: The Hero's Return" by AuthorK, It's about a different Harry raised by Sirius (and it shows) but it's also Haphne.

The easiest way to be cheated is to believe yourself to be more cunning than others. – Pierre Charron

Daphne was about to start eating breakfast when her little sister appeared. She'd been quiet for a day so she decided to greet her pleasantly, hoping Astoria would treat her with the same courtesy. Astoria encouraged her friend Jessica to save her a seat while she chatted with her sister, which put her on alert since she had no idea what her sister wanted to talk about.

Her sister sat beside her and gave her a big smile but didn't say anything for a few moments. Now, what could possibly be going through that devious little mind now? She was concerned that it was nothing good for her.

"Why so wary, Daph? I'm just here for a little sister-to-sister chat."

"You have to ask me that after that last stunt you pulled?"

"Isn't it better to have that dirty little secret about the Harry Potter books out in the open? You don't have worry about it anymore."

She was definitely up to something, she pulled more of her ice queen persona up. "That wasn't something that anyone needed to know. What is it that you want?"

Astoria rolled her eyes and gave her a disappointed look that accomplished nothing with Daphne. "Well, I guess one thing to talk about is boys."

Daphne hid her reaction, she really hoped that Astoria hadn't already started with boys, she was too young! Of course, at her age if she had been interested in boys, she wouldn't have wanted to hear that. "What about them?"

Astoria leaned in and whispered, "How's Harry?"

She made her response equally quiet. "He's fine, you can see for yourself at the Gryffindor table."

Astoria's only response was a light, "Appearances can be deceiving."

She felt herself tense up despite her wish to not react, did Astoria know something she didn't? "Why did you say that?"

"Oh, I haven't heard anything if that's what you're thinking. I'm just showing concern for my honorary big brother."

Right and basilisks make good house pets. "Get to the point, Astoria."

"Well, there is a boy who has caught my eye. He's really handsome and quite the catch."

She was waiting for her to ask, that just increased her disquiet. "Who is it?"

"Draco Malfoy. Isn't he just dreamy?"

She wasn't eating anything at that moment but she still nearly choked. What the bloody hell? She knew he was trying to spy on her! She was about to reprimand her sister when Astoria's face broke out into a huge grin and she knew she'd been had. Before she could react Astoria laughed and added as she was leaving, "You weren't this easy to get to before, I like this new Daphne."

She was glaring daggers at her sister's back but she didn't look back and wouldn't know but she must suspect. She began plotting various exotic manners of revenge when she heard Tracey trying to get her attention.

"Daph? Are you OK? She was just teasing, you know."

She whipped her head around to glare at her friend who then looked surprised and leaned away from her. Daphne then hissed out, "She may not survive her first year at Hogwarts!"

* * *

The class that Neville had been dreading for two days was now upon them, Potions. He knew it wasn't a Slytherin thing to pick on him now; Daphne and especially Tracey had been nice to him, it was gits like Malfoy and the Potions professor that were a source of misery for him. Still, he had friends now and more confidence and he was hoping for a better year. One encouraging thing had been that Malfoy seemed preoccupied with other things and had not attempted any interaction when their paths crossed but it had happened often enough that he was beginning to wonder if Malfoy had been following him.

Suddenly the door opened and Snape appeared with his usual scowl ln place and all student conversations in the hallway ceased and they dutifully began filing in. He ended up sitting with Harry while Ron and Hermione sat together. He tried to keep a subtle eye on Malfoy as Malfoy took a seat behind Daphne and Tracey but he was also in a position where Neville had a good view if he turned that way a bit.

After the usual brief lecture, Snape set them to work on a shrinking solution and Neville carefully followed the directions and was pleased to see that Harry and he were doing the same things with the same ingredients so he was quite hopeful that he was doing well. Then Snape began prowling around and the first couple of times he passed behind him, Neville expected the usual caustic remark yet none came. By the third time he went past, he was mostly able to ignore the presence of the man.

He did keep an eye on him though and noted that he only spoke to Slytherins although he did seem to take delight in the state of Seamus' potion, it was the wrong colour and giving off noxious fumes so everyone was trying to avoid him. At the end of the class, he had noted that although he had given some points to a few of his Slytherins, he'd not taken a single point from Gryffindor, which seemed to him to be a first.

The other thing he had noticed was that Malfoy seemed to be glancing at both Daphne and him more than was necessary. He hoped that Malfoy didn't suspect they were friends as that could go badly for Daphne. On the other hand, he seemed to pay no attention to Harry, which was odd all by itself, but also odd because it was Harry who was closest to Daphne, not him. He made a mental note to talk to his friends about his observations when they had some privacy tonight.

In the meantime, he had plenty to contemplate regarding Tracey. Seeing her again reminded him that he had yet to find a room for them to meet. Using Harry and Daphne's room seemed intrusive and an invasion of privacy, neither did he want to bring too much attention to the room of requirement. There were plenty of spare rooms around the castle, he just had to find an out of the way one, clean it up a bit and then arrange to meet her. Most of that sounded easy, it was the meeting her part that had him worried as he had no clear idea of what he wanted to say yet.

* * *

Harry came into the DADA classroom to find only a few Ravenclaws already there. They certainly seemed to have a lot of classes with the 'claws this year and for a moment, he wished it was the Slytherins instead but then he remembered that would include Malfoy and his goons and withdrew his wish. The best thing was that he was finally off of his magic moratorium and had done a slightly-overpowered Lumos this morning as a test. He may still need a little work on controlling his power but he had a lot more confidence in his control now, at least as long as he wasn't facing a dementor.

Remus finally entered and greeted the class cheerily, which surprised a lot of them although most managed to return the greetings with the same enthusiasm. The news that it was a practical lesson and they should pack up their belongings was even more of a surprise but Harry thought it was brilliant. There'd been too much theory and not enough practical as far as he was concerned.

There was a bit of a downer when they entered the staff lounge and found Snape there but he left with nothing to say but his scathing look spoke volumes by itself. Due to their eagerness, the 'claws predominated as the earliest ones to face the boggart. He liked that Remus talked to each student before letting them approach next and held the boggart at bay in between with what Harry was pretty sure was an Impedmenta jinx. He wasn't positive because Remus did his spells silently, something that Harry envied as he was still working on adding spells that he could use silently.

He noted that the Ravenclaws tended to fear failure although one had a large and angry book to deal with, which he thought was odd based on their reputations as swots. What was uncomfortable though was that Lisa Turpin kept giving him coy glances, which he pretended not to see. He wished that he'd asked Daphne how to handle this but he'd forgotten so he hoped no girl tried a more direct approach that wasn't easily ignored.

Finally some Gryffindors were getting their turns and he saw Seamus deal with a banshee, Dean contend with a disembodied hand and Parvati face down a mummy. He was close enough to hear Remus talking to Neville but he wasn't sure if his greatest fear was Snape or his grandmother. Remus' suggestion to dress up Snape like his gran brought a big grin to Harry's face and he hoped that was what it would be. Unfortunately, what appeared was his grandmother with a very disapproving glare and Harry wasn't sure what to do with that but then all of her clothing, her bag and even her hair turned pink and she gave an indignant shriek before Neville cast Riddikulus to vanquish the boggart.

Harry was pleased to see Neville grinning as he turned to walk away and Ron started to talk to Remus. Neville whispered, "She hates pink," as he passed Harry and Harry gave him a smile and a pat on the shoulder. Neville had handled that well but now he was still thinking about how to handle what he was sure would be a dementor. He had to focus on making it funny rather than casting his Patronus again and although he had one idea, making a monster like a dementor funny was quite the challenge.

Ron grinned and winked at him as he walked by Harry, a legless spider wasn't very threatening so that had been brilliant. Then Hermione faced a paper marked with the grade Troll but she changed it to read **Just Kidding! Outstanding** and seemed a bit smug as she went past but Harry was a little distracted as he was next. He stepped forward and stared at the wavering paper still marked Outstanding that was waiting for him.

"What do you believe will be your worst fear, Mr. Potter?"

For a split second, Harry wondered why he didn't call him 'Harry' but then he wanted to face palm as they were in class! Of course Remus had to be more formal. He cleared his throat and quietly said, "I expect a dementor."

Remus nodded as he responded, "Ah, I'm surprised it hadn't come up before but then not all of the students actually saw them. Do you have any ideas on how to make it funny?"

Remus sounded a little sceptical and Harry didn't blame him, it was a tall order. "I was thinking of making it look like a clown."

"Ah! Excellent idea! I didn't think of that, go ahead then."

Remus stepped back with his wand ready and they waited a few moments for the boggart to recover. The page slowly began to shift and then the blob became much taller and darker and Harry realized he'd been right, he really had to concentrate as this seemed a little like the Patronus, he had to focus to get the results and not just pump out magic. He heard some gasps and nervous mutters as the air began to cool and a sense of great menace began, Harry hadn't expected it to mimic the magical effects but that shouldn't stop him plus he felt his amulet again reacting to the negative energy.

He concentrated hard and when brilliantly red hair and a clown face began to form along with a bright and colourful robe that replaced the black, tattered one he encanted "RIddikulus!" It worked as the clown fell back and as he turned to leave, Lavender Brown worriedly took his place.

He didn't get a chance to see what Lavender feared as Ron asked, "What did you turn it into?"

Harry gave him a surprised look, "You've never seen a clown?"

Ron and Neville exchanged blank looks before Ron asked, "What's a clown?"

Hermione joined the conversation with, "It must not be part of magical culture. In the Muggle world, a clown is an entertainer, usually quite funny. Some kids have them at their parties and they also appear in the circus."

Ron looked sceptical, "They're funny then? It looked a little creepy to me. They kinda dress like Dumbledore though."

The other three burst into laughter and after a momentary confused look, Ron joined in.

* * *

Ron felt like he was in danger of losing his recently consumed breakfast as they were heading towards their first Ancient Runes class. He liked that he was with all of his Gryffindor friends in this class and he sort of liked trying to be more like his big brother Bill. What he didn't like was this feeling of impending doom. What if wasn't smart enough for this class or maybe he'd never be able to write or inscribe the runes correctly?

Divination had sounded dodgy, especially to hear Seamus talk about it but it was definitely easy, even Seamus was going to stick with it for an easy class. Deep down, he had this feeling that he had made a huge mistake and every student close to him would be there to see him fail – even the two Slytherins. He was really fine with including them now, he knew they weren't trying to hurt anybody and he'd never seen his best mate so happy. Anybody who could do that for Harry was OK in Ron's book and he wished he could have a do-over and become friends with them too. Maybe someday he'd get a second chance at that. For now though, he had to concentrate on keeping his breakfast where it was.

He didn't recall much of Professor Babbling's opening lecture about the class, he was still fighting the nausea and an urge to flee the room. However, he eventually became aware of her friendly demeanour and she sort of reminded him of Professor Lupin in that way. Maybe this class wouldn't be that awful after all.

Then she started asking some basic questions and he knew most of the answers but let the more confident students field the questions, mainly Daphne, Hermione and Harry. When Neville answered a question he began to wonder why he couldn't. Then she asked a question that he had discussed with Bill and before he even had a chance to think about it, his hand was up and she was calling on him. He gulped and hoped he wouldn't sound like a complete idiot when he tried to answer.

His voice faltered early on but he managed to say what he intended to say and he was gobsmacked when she gave him points for a very comprehensive answer. He saw a proud look from Hermione that made him blush but that faded as he began to feel like a fraud. He had paraphrased what his brother said, wasn't that sort of like cheating? On the other hand, she was only trying to find out what they knew at the start of class and he did know it so maybe the source didn't matter? What if he'd read it in the book instead, that would have been OK, right?

He was able to put those thoughts aside when they got their first assignment and he was content with the fact that he had understood what she wanted. He knew that if he got stuck he could ask one of his friends but a determination grew within him to prove to himself – and his friends – that he could do this on his own. Ron Weasley was going to take his studies more seriously from now on and he'd work hard to keep his fears from becoming reality and to silence the little voice in the back of his mind which continually told him he was going to fail and look stupid.

* * *

Harry was packing up after his first Herbology class and the best thing about it was seeing Neville in his element, he was even helping other people when Sprout wasn't around to ask. He got a little nervous when he saw Zacharias Smith approaching him as he was one of the Hufflepuffs that had been certain he was the Heir of Slytherin last year. Then he noticed that he seemed more embarrassed than scared, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Errr… Um, Potter? Do you have a minute?"

So far, so good so he'd give him the benefit of the doubt. "Sure Smith, what's up?"

"Well, my mum wanted me to thank you for responding to the letter from my little sister."

Smith was looking at him expectantly while he wondered what he was talking about but then he remembered the fan letter over the summer and now that he thought about it, the girl's last name was Smith. "Darcie is your sister?"

He saw a look of relief appear on the boy's face as he nodded with a hint of a blush.

"It was no big deal, she wrote me a nice letter so I wrote one back." He thought for a moment then continued, "If I remember right she is seven so I guess she won't be here for four years."

"Actually, she turned eight just before school so she'll be here in three."

"Oh, good for her then. So tell your mum that it was my pleasure."

"Will do! Thanks, Potter."

He watched him leave and was tempted to shake his head at how people kept changing their minds about him. First, he's a dark wizard then he's the bloke they're thanking for writing to their little sister.

* * *

Harry was worried as not only had he gotten a terse request from Daphne for a meeting that evening but when he'd seen her at dinner, she was in full ice queen mode. A part of him was worried that this was a delayed reaction to their previous meeting but she never answered his question about what the meeting was about. He got to their room and he tried hard not to brood but it wasn't easy. Thus, he was pacing back and forth in the room when the door finally opened and he saw Daphne with her Occlumency firmly and obviously in place.

He froze for a split second, wondering what was going on when she suddenly slammed the door shut and ran straight towards him with her arms out. He opened his arms just in time when she bumped him back a half pace and tried to bury her face in his shoulder. He felt her shudder and he realized she was very upset about something and needed comfort so this was unlikely to be about what happened in their previous meeting. In a way, that was a relief but now he had no clue as to what the actual problem was.

First though, he had to take care of some security as she may have drawn attention with her slam of the door. He was glad for his new wand holster as he could eject the wand with only one hand so he could keep hugging her with his left arm. He sent the usual spells towards the door and let the holster pull the wand back in so he could give his full attention to comforting his girlfriend.

He tried to engulf her into him as much as she tried to nestle in and then he began to wonder what to say. How could he help her if he didn't know what was wrong? Should he ask or should he wait for her to start? He debated internally for a while which effectively gave her a chance to speak up but she didn't. His mouth was already near her ear so he whispered out, "What's wrong?"

She shuddered then so he decided that it might be too soon yet so he waited. When she finally spoke, her voice was a bit muffled as she was still keeping her face against him. "I faced the boggart today, it was awful and I failed!"

She was very serious about her classes so she would be upset if she got a zero although he didn't think that Remus would do that to someone who tried. He had a feeling that he was missing something and the obvious other explanation was that the fear the boggart had shown to her was affecting her too so he asked, "What did it turn into?"

She shuddered and gave out a strange sort of keening sound. His heart sank as he realized that this was really bad and he still didn't have a clear idea of what to say. "Whatever it showed you wasn't real, he was just trying to use your feelings to scare you. What did you see?"

She took a shuddering breath and turned her face more towards his neck so he was able to feel her breath on him and it gave him goosebumps. Now wasn't the time to get distracted though so he waited patiently. Then she muttered, "You."

Him? She was afraid of him? He stiffened in reaction and she hugged him tighter as she spoke again. "A dead you, Harry, not a living you."

Oh. He relaxed as he realized it was fear of losing him, not fear of him. He had no idea how he could deal with the latter but the former was easier. "Daphne, I'm right here, I'm fine and I'm not going anywhere."

"I know but I had to see you, hold you and feel you for myself. I couldn't get that image out of my head."

He sighed with mixture of relief and frustration. He wasn't sure what to do to make her feel better but he'd keep trying until he got it right but then another thought came to him. Why hadn't his greatest fear been seeing her dead? Did she care more about him than he cared about her? He began to feel ashamed, was there something wrong with him?

He put his focus back on Daphne and began rubbing her back in an effort to provide comfort. Although he might need some advice on this, he was too mortified to bring the subject up. It would be obvious that he was a bad boyfriend! He could never bring this up to her parents! Even bringing it up to Sirius would be humiliating. Maybe he wasn't ready to be a boyfriend after all and he seemed doomed to disappointing Daphne and perhaps hurting her! This was a disaster!

Finally, she took a deep breath and began releasing him so he did the same and she looked up at him with a somewhat convincing smile. "Thanks, Harry. I guess I needed that." Her eyes were red and there were still tracks of her tears on her cheeks and he tried to smile back but it was hard. Then she began to look concerned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Now he felt even worse, he was causing her concern just when she was recovering. He wasn't helping her now at all and it increased his shame. He decided to bluff, "It's nothing for you to worry about."

His heart clenched as her eyes narrowed and she began to speak again. "Oh no you don't, Potter. You expect me to tell you what is bothering me so you have to do the same thing. This goes both ways, Harry. Talk to me."

He considered that her calling him 'Potter' was a warning that he'd better take seriously. He was going to let her down either way, he was trapped! "My greatest fear was a dementor."

She looked puzzled, "I know, what's the problem?"

He squirmed for a moment then blurted out, "Well, shouldn't it have been seeing you dead?" He held his breath for her answer, which looked like a puzzled frown.

"Harry, I don't have a madman after me and you do. I have to think about the possibility of losing you and I never faced the dementor directly but you did. Also, don't think this is some sort of competition about who likes the other more. That's silly! I can tell you care just by how you act and how you look at me! You're afraid of letting me down and that is proof that you care!"

Harry was never so grateful for being easy to read, maybe this wasn't a disaster after all. All thought quickly left his head as she gave him a toe-curling kiss.

When they came back up for air, she sighed and gave him a genuine smile that made him feel much better. "We're also lucky that Remus already knew about us and the need for secrecy. That stupid boggart could have given everything away!"

Harry felt stupid for a moment, why hadn't he thought of that? "What did Remus do?"

"He cast some bright spell that made everyone look away and it also seemed to scare the boggart. He then hit it with probably an Impedimenta Jinx and it seemed to slowly start to turn into a glowing sphere, which was a bit odd. Do you suppose it was the moon, for when he transforms?"

"That makes sense, it can't be a pleasant experience and I'd fear the full moon myself if I were him. So nobody saw it was me?"

"Not that I could tell. Everyone was well back, especially the Slytherins and the boggart was laying on the floor. One of the 'Puffs even fainted and Tracey said she couldn't tell for sure it was you, she only guessed because she already knew about us. I think we're safe. I put on my ice queen façade so nobody approached me although it looked like Millie wanted to, she looked sorry for me."

Harry smiled at her as he said, "I'm glad nothing got revealed then. We're fine, Daphne, there is really nothing to worry about."

She gave him another hug and said with a sigh, "I can't help worrying sometimes but I am happy with you, Harry. I really like you, a lot."

"I feel the same way." That earned him a tightened hug and then a quick kiss. They smiled at each other and got lost in the moment as they stared each other's eyes before shaking it off and hugging again.

* * *

Filius Flitwick was checking the duelling room for his private class and had to admit, as much as he enjoyed teaching charms, this was even better. He had moved on from competing himself but he now had to admit that he had a fire inside him to be a coach and mentor, much like his own from all those years ago during his competitive career. He was really hoping to convince Harry to enter tournaments this year as if what he surmised was true, Harry was in a better situation to do that now.

He was a little surprised to see all of his students enter at once, usually the Slytherin part of the group arrived separately. He grinned as he returned their greetings as it was good to see so many cheerful, eager faces. He was intrigued when one of the Slytherins approached him before they could get started.

Miss Greengrass seemed uncharacteristically unsure as she approached him. "Professor, I have a little sister and she and her best friend are interested in joining this training. They are both first years but they have both had some home schooling on spells, they're more experienced than most first years."

"I am well aware of Astoria Greengrass' talent for charms, she has surprised me. I would guess that her friend is Jessica Baggins?"

The girl looked nonplussed but quickly said, "That's correct."

"If they don't mind joining those more advanced than them, I would agree to take them on to see how it goes. I am not in a position to offer another class as my free time is rather limited."

She looked relieved as she said, "That's what they were planning to do. Thanks Professor, I'll tell them they can come next time."

He nodded at her genially and started speaking to the whole group. "Alright everyone, let's pair up and show me if you kept up your training over the summer."

As they began sparring, he was pleased to see that none of them seemed to have regressed although Longbottom and Davis looked a little more awkward with each other than usual. The real surprise was Potter and Greengrass as they were quickly into a very spirited duel that continued on at a furious pace that convinced him that they had not let up over the summer and in fact, they were doing some spells that he hadn't taught them and he wondered if they'd had another tutor during the summer, they were that good.

As the others finished their duels, they too started to watch the incredible display put on by Greengrass and Potter. It finally ended when Greengrass failed to dodge a spell in time and after being hit by another incoming spell, she was disarmed. Harry Potter smirked at the girl as he held her wand and helped her up before returning it to her. For her part, she was pretending to be angry with him but her smile and sparkling eyes told a different story, she seemed proud of him.

"Did you two have a tutor during the summer?"

Greengrass seemed to need a moment after staring at what appeared to be her boyfriend but she finally answered as Harry seemed to be in the same situation. "My mother helped us during the summer and we kept up on our workouts too."

He frowned for a split second before he remembered that her mother was Roxanne Lannister, a very formidable witch in her own right who might not have been quite as talented at charms as her friend Lily, she was an intelligent witch with a quick wand. She would probably be a very good instructor.

"Excellent! I'm quite pleased to see nobody took the summer off and you are ready to continue."

As he led them through reviewing spells they had learned from him last year he noticed once more that both Greengrass and Potter were the two best at this portion also. He'd have to try to give them some extra work to challenge them and pitting them against each other would keep them both sharp too. Then he began to ponder offering to mentor them both.

When they were finished and he dismissed them all and praising their dedication over the summer, he added something specifically to Potter and Greengrass who were conveniently standing next to each other. "Would you two wait for a moment, I'd like to speak to you both. The others left quickly although he noticed Davis giving Greengrass a knowing sort of smirk. Whether they were a couple or not, he had a proposal for them.

"I am very impressed with both of you. I was going to extend an invitation to Mr. Potter here to try some extra work in preparing for duelling tournaments whether he'd like to participate in them or not. However, after seeing the duel you two put on, I would now like to extend that invitation to you both."

They exchanged an inquisitive look and when they both smiled at each other, he felt he'd get a positive answer. They turned to him simultaneously and said "We're in!" Filius grinned as he looked forward to a very interesting year. This was going to be so much fun!

* * *

Tracey had been looking forward to this for days but when the day finally arrived, she felt like she might throw up. She'd been thinking of positive scenarios to get her this far but suddenly her mind just kept throwing negative ones at her and she ended up so nervous that her stomach felt like it was tied up in knots. The problem was that she was in uncharted territory now and she had tried to talk to her mother about this but it hadn't been much help. Her only real friend here had started her relationship because the boy needed information that she had but she had nothing for Neville. In fact, he was probably in a better situation to teach her some things than the other way around. What could she bring to the table?

She didn't know what to do and it was driving her mad. Maybe she could send a note that she was sick and had to cancel? She felt embarrassed just thinking about that and quickly abandoned that plan. Now it was time for her to go to the room and try to talk to him. She just hoped she'd be able to talk and it would also be good to not sound like a lunatic.

She felt lonely and vulnerable as she walked the corridors of the castle alone as she was so accustomed to being with her best friend Daphne. However, she couldn't be there for their talk so it made no sense to ask for her company just for walking to her rendezvous and back. Malfoy and the stalker seemed to be after Daphne so Tracey felt that she should be safe enough and it wouldn't be good for Daphne to be alone, she was safe enough in their dorm but not waiting for her friend in a deserted hallway.

She reached the door and sighed and almost knocked but realized that would just draw attention, which reminded her that she was supposed to be making sure nobody saw her. She looked around quickly and saw nobody but that didn't eliminate the possibility of Malfoy following her. However, he had no reason to that she knew of so she tried to enter the room confidently.

She saw Neville pacing although he stopped suddenly and gave her a tentative smile. So he was nervous too, that actually made her feel a little better. "Hi, Neville." She looked around and saw an old sofa in the room that was reasonably clean, that must be why he picked this room. She gestured nervously towards the sofa and asked, "Should we sit?"

His voice sounded a little rough and nervous as he replied, "Hi, Tracey. Yeah, that's what I … um … planned. I mean, you know, to talk."

He was as nervous as her so she gave him a big smile and pointed to the other side of the sofa when she sat down hoping that it would encourage him. She wasn't sure what to say next either so she hoped he would come up with something but that resulted in an awkward silence after he sat down.

Just when she thought she'd have to start babbling something to end the silence, he finally spoke. "I've been thinking about this a lot and I'm still not sure if I'm ready." Her heart stuttered in her chest and her chin fell down to her chest as she tried to stifle her reaction but still felt herself beginning to tear up anyway. She kept telling herself this wasn't really a rejection, if the boy wasn't ready then he wasn't ready so it was rather simple and straightforward and not about her.

"But then I thought if I don't try then how would I know if I'm ready or not." Her head snapped up and looked over at him but he was staring hard at the floor and might not have noticed her reaction. "So, I think we ought to get to know each other. Meet here like Daphne and Harry do, spend some time together and get to know each other."

He stopped there and she could see a blush starting to creep over his face so she decided she better speak up to reassure him. "I think that's a good idea, I agree."

His head snapped over to her with a smile beginning to form as he said, "Really?"

She tried to suppress the chuckle but it slipped out and she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. "Yes, really. I like you, Neville, that's why I suggested we get together or at least spend some time together. Did you have a plan for what to talk about?"

The poor guy looked embarrassed again so she volunteered what little she had gotten from her mother, although she did not plan to admit to the source. "Well, someone I trust suggested we ask each other questions and start out simple. Just let it take us where it wants to go."

Neville looked relieved, "Yeah, that sounds good."

Since he seemed to wait she grinned and said, "I guess that means girls first then. So, what's your favourite colour?"

"Blue. Ummm, your favourite colour?"

"Red."

That finally got a grin from the boy, "Like Gryffindor red?"

She chuckled and admitted, "Yes, I like Gryffindor red. So what about you, Ravenclaw blue?"

Neville gave a genuine laugh, "Yeah, I guess so. I kind of like Slytherin green too though."

She wasn't sure if that was teasing or if that was flirting but it didn't really matter yet. He'd given them a chance and that was all that she'd been hoping for from this meeting. This was a win so she blushed and gave him a mock hit on the shoulder. "I didn't know you were such a smooth talker, Neville."

That got a guffaw from him so her smile grew bigger, this was looking good.

* * *

The four Gryffindors by necessity had taken their joint study session to the library as they needed reference books for a couple of their essays that none of them owned. The library not only gave them access to the right books, they could even share the books as needed without having to check them out and lug them all the way to Gryffindor tower. Harry was contemplating the just-completed section of his last essay when he had the feeling that someone was behind him. He was trying to decide if he was being paranoid or if he really should check his back when he heard a girl's voice tentatively ask, "Potter?"

He had to stop himself from cringing. _Oh, no! Please don't let it be Padma or Lisa, I'm not ready for this!_ He steeled himself and turned to look at the speaker and was surprised and somewhat relieved to see neither of his initial suspects, instead Susan Bones stood somewhat awkwardly behind him. Her cheeks were a bit pink and she was visibly nervous but she stood her ground. Since she was still pausing, he felt that he ought to try to set her mind at ease and because he didn't know her well, he decided to go semi-formal but also didn't want to make this more dramatic than it had to be.

He tried to give her a welcoming smile. "I don't bite, Heiress Bones. Is there something I could do for you?"

She smiled and seemed to somewhat relax and he congratulated himself for handling a new social situation pretty well, which was not something that he could take for granted. On the other hand, if she asked him out, he'd be lost again. _Please don't ask me out._

That was when she glanced behind herself and he saw some other Hufflepuffs watching them when he followed her glance. _Now what is up?_

"Well, is it true you can cast a corporeal Patronus?"

At her question, his gaze returned to her, she was giving him an earnest and possibly hopeful look. OK, this wasn't so bad then. It was hardly a secret and he knew all of Hogwarts must know about it by now _. What do you know, a true rumour about me at last!_ He kept his face bland to hide his amusement as he answered.

"That's actually true, did you have a question about that?"

She glanced back again as she seemed nervous once more but then spoke in an almost whisper, "Well, a group of us were wondering if you could teach us?"

Him? They had professors for that sort of thing but then he remembered that Roxanne had told him it was a NEWT-level spell and therefore they wouldn't encounter it for at least another three years. Another thing that Roxanne had told him floated into his mind, in order to demonstrate true mastery of something, you should teach it to someone else. If he really wanted to be the best version of himself then he should be able to teach this. As long as they could all agree on a time and place, this was something he really ought to do.

He glanced behind her again and he saw just three others: Finch-Fletchley, Smith (again!) and he was pretty sure that was Abbott so it wouldn't be too bad. "Sure. I'll try to find a room to meet in and we can get together and decide when."

Another humorous element came to him. They'd gone from suspecting him of being the heir of Slytherin, to thanking him for writing to their little sister and now asking him to teach them! At least things were going in a positive direction.

He got relieved smiles from the Puffs and it made him feel a little better about agreeing to this. This wouldn't just be for him to prove himself, this was for them too as everyone should be able to protect themselves from those foul creatures.

* * *

It was the first week of October and after over a month of observation, he really had nothing. Draco was feeling rather naive that he had thought this would be easy. If it was easy, his father would have done it already. It was time to become bolder but this had to be planned out carefully, there could be no mistakes and with two idiots as his helpers there was a lot of potential for something going wrong.

The problem was, even though the little Greengrass wasn't as careful or aware as her big sister, she was much more social. Whereas he'd only see Daphne with anyone other than Tracey in a class, the little brat was almost always with a group, even including non-Slytherins! Normally, he'd try to put pressure on her for being a traitor to her house but he didn't dare attract any unwanted attention so he had said and done nothing about it.

Even though it was risky to attempt something within their domain, it was the only time that the little Greengrass might be nearly alone. The fact that another firstie might be with her was something he didn't consider a significant factor. He knew how to obliviate someone, he had tested it with Crabbe successfully although he did wonder if Crabbe forgetting his Transfiguration homework was his fault or not. It wouldn't matter anyway, he usually got dreadful or troll on his homework.

Friday afternoons were a relaxed time and some students went outside so the Slytherin area was the least populated at that time. He'd watch for his chance and if he had to take two firsties instead of just one, it was really no problem.

* * *

Hermione stared at her book but her mind was whirling on something else, Harry Potter to be exact. She had been proud of Harry's greater dedication to his education and actually, she still was. However, ever since they were in that first Arithmancy class, it had become evident to her that they were now academic competitors and she had to admit, when it came to academia she was very competitive. The problem was, in Muggle school this dynamic had never ended well for her and she was very concerned about losing Harry as a friend.

So far however, she saw no signs of friction and they were basically running neck and neck at the top of their classes, sometimes she did better, sometimes he did and in the end it could very well end up being a tie between them. Since Harry wasn't the type to try to rub anything in, she could probably live with that. Of course, she was also competing with his girlfriend although with her in a different house, there was a lot less chance of friction. She gnawed on her lip, if it came down to it and she had to lose one of them as a friend, she would choose to keep Harry over Daphne as they had been closer to each other so there was also less at stake with Daphne.

She looked over and saw him reading and he seemed to be having a better time concentrating than she was. She was fourteen now and they had given her a really nice surprise for her birthday. Although she wasn't into sweets as much as Ron, how could she since she was the daughter of two dentists, but she appreciated his gift all the same. Neville and Harry had each given her books but then Harry really surprised her by giving her some magical hair products that had been invented by his own grandfather!

Of her three friends, Harry was the sweetest but he was taken. Neville was a bit quiet but he was earnest, loyal and kind but he was also sort of taken already although she got the feeling that wasn't official yet. That left Ron from their group for her to contemplate. She liked his new dedication to his studies, for one thing it gave her more time for her own as he wasn't requesting help nor did he usually need any for that matter. It was just sort of obvious that he was the least ready for dating of their group.

She wasn't all that keen to start dating yet but she wasn't opposed to it either and if she wanted any proof that it could work at their age, she only had to look at Harry and Daphne. They seemed quite content and she was happy for them but it was just that someday, she'd have to start trying dating for herself and so far she had no solid candidates. She supposed she'd just have to keep her eyes open, there wasn't any rush.

* * *

Astoria was chatting with some of her friends in the common room when she noticed that Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber were watching her. What was odd was that Draco's bodyguards were not with Draco, which was very rare. She had noticed that threesome being around her a lot and she began to wonder if they were trying to spy on her for some reason so perhaps she should mention that to Daphne.

She'd had to be nice to her sister for almost two weeks before things had returned to normal between them so now she could raise such an issue. If Draco was really watching her then perhaps this was really about their family and not just Daphne. That could be important so she ought to tell Daphne so she could pass it on to their father so she resolved to do it that night.

Most of her friends decided to go outside but Astoria and Jessica decided to retreat to their dorm room to play a game. She kept the bodyguards in her peripheral vision just in case and was somewhat alarmed when they rose when she and Jessica did and seemed intent on following them. She might be getting paranoid but then it was better to be prepared so she decided to be ready to eject her wand into her hand at a moment's notice. Hopefully, few people knew about her wand holster so she could surprise any attacker plus she'd been learning a lot from Flitwick and she hoped she was much more ready for an attack than they would expect.

They were in the hallway towards the dorms and getting near where they split for the boys and girls when she heard the heavy feet of their followers accelerating towards them. There were no witnesses that she was aware of so she ejected her wand and prepared to turn and attack them when a sound from in front of her distracted her. It was a sound of someone moving but she saw nothing so suddenly the mystery of Draco's whereabouts was resolved as she had been warned about this invisibility cloak. The wanker was on the other side of them and this was an ambush!

She changed targets immediately and yelled "Stupefy!" at the sound and turned to engage Crabbe and Goyle as Jessica started to do the same. However, the big goons were faster than she had realized and Crabbe was on her before she could fire a spell and he had grabbed her wrists and her wand was now pointed uselessly up. Goyle had grabbed Jessica similarly but she immediately kicked Goyle in the shin and it must have been hard as Goyle howled in pain but unfortunately, maintained his hold on Jessica.

Crabbe had been distracted by Goyle's shout of pain so Astoria took advantage of that and wound up her right leg and kicked him as hard as she could but she aimed for a different part of his anatomy as her mother had taught her. Crabbe let her go and dropped like a sack of potatoes with a much more muffled grunt of pain than Goyle and then he began revisiting his last meal.

By the time she brought her wand to bear on Goyle, Jessica had nailed him again in the shin and despite his efforts to keep her away she was about to do it again when Astoria hit him with a shouted Stupefy and he dropped similarly to Crabbe, except for the vomiting part. That's when she heard but could not see someone stumbling around. Her spell must have been a little off but he was close now so she lunged at the sound and grabbed when she felt a cloak and pulled it towards her and started to reveal a groggy Draco Malfoy. A point blank Stupefy took him down and she yelled, "Jessica! Get my sister!" When Jessica looked at her in surprise she shouted, "Now!" and that did the trick as her friend hurried away. She heard others approaching so she took a defensive stance and faced them.

She relaxed when she recognized one of the female prefects with her wand out along with some other curious students. The prefect looked at her and said, "Easy, Greengrass. What happened here?"

"They attacked Jessica and me! Malfoy and his goons!"

That seemed to be more than the prefect could absorb at once so she was still staring at the boys on the floor when an older female prefect came up. She looked at the boys and then Astoria and asked, "They attacked you?"

Astoria nodded and added, "Right, they attacked Jessica and me." The older prefect looked at the younger one and said, "Go get Professor Snape, Williams. I'll watch things here."

The younger one nodded and said, "Yes, Selwyn," and quickly departed.

* * *

Daphne was staring at the essay she had started to review for errors but her thoughts were actually on a certain messy-haired Gryffindor. Thus, she was taken completely by surprise when a very agitated Jessica came barrelling into their dorm shouting, "Come quick! Malfoy and his friends attacked Astoria and me! She needs help!"

She had her wand in her hand instantly and dropped everything as she quickly followed Jessica and she could hear Tracey behind her. They were nearing where the dorm hallways joined when she saw a crowd of people in the background and her sister with some boys on the floor in the foreground. She pulled up beside her sister and briefly squeezed her shoulder in reassurance with her free hand as she assessed the situation. She was startled when Crabbe groaned and shifted slightly on the floor.

Without thinking, she incanted, "Accio wands," and was surprised when three wands were rapidly coming at her. Unlike Harry, she was no seeker and only caught one of them but quickly bent over and retrieved the other two where they'd fallen. She'd been getting better at the spell but this was the first time it had been so effective so perhaps she performed better under pressure like Harry.

* * *

Another tedious week of classes was over and Severus was looking forward to the free time to experiment with a new potion he was working on. His thoughts were interrupted by a frantic pounding on the door to his quarters and after scowling at the door, he got up to answer it. Whoever it was on the other side of that door, they'd best have a very good reason for bothering him, for their sake.

He looked down to see one of the new fifth year prefects, it might be important so he enquired as calmly as he could. "Yes, Williams, what is it?"

"Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle attacked Greengrass and Baggins, sir!"

For a split second, he wondered which Greengrass it was but then the little Baggins girl was involved so it must be the younger one. Either way, this was trouble and that idiot godson of his would answer to him for this act of stupidity. He asked, "Where?"

"In the hallways to the dorms, sir."

At least the idiot had kept it in house, it would have been much more embarrassing in a public place and he hoped to contain this but the involvement of a Greengrass made that problematic. He quickly shut his door and moved towards the Slytherin common room as the rattled prefect trailed behind him. He began to wonder why he'd chosen Williams as prefect but then he recalled that she was the best out of poor group of girls in fifth year. He wished he could make that hat be more selective about the students it stuck him with.

The crowd in the main hallway to the dorms split before him promptly so at least the dunderheads were observant. He was a little surprised to see all three boys down, were all three boys taken down by two younger girls or had the older Greengrass and her friend helped too? He decided to start with a question that would narrow things down.

"Who witnessed the attack?"

Only the two first years responded so three third year boys were taken down by two first year girls. He was ready to shake his head in despair as one of those idiots was his godson. Why did Lucius inflict his idiot son on him? Had he done something awful in a previous life? Then again, he had done a lot of things he shouldn't have in this life so perhaps he shouldn't object to some penance.

Then he realized that two of the boys were out cold and one was lying in his vomit and groaning. What a sorry sight they presented! With flicks of his wand he had two of them waking up and the third one clean of what he'd been lying in. "Malfoy, you and Goyle help Crabbe up. All five of you will come to my office and we'll settle this."

He was about to turn for his office when he heard a student challenge his prerogative of settling this his way. "Professor Snape, if these three are not punished sufficiently, this will become a House matter."

Ordinarily, he'd put anyone saying anything like that down immediately, regardless of their family or standing of their house. However, the student's father could dismiss him from his post and this was a very real threat to his godson and whatever he thought of the boy, he did have some responsibility for him. Still, he could not accept this docilely.

He glared at the elder Greengrass and ground out, "Miss Greengrass, are you challenging my authority?"

"I'm simply stating facts, Professor. My father will take this incident very personally and he won't allow anyone to attack his family and walk away free."

She wasn't backing down as he hoped, his stern tone of voice and the threat he'd tried to put into it had not swayed her. He looked again at his godson and although he had seemed to regather his wits, he looked sullen and recalcitrant. The boy was probably too stupid to realize how exposed he was without his father available to protect him. If the Greengrasses went after him, the boy wouldn't stand a chance. Perhaps it was time to put the old man on the spot and wash his hands of this whole sordid affair. He'd try only one more thing.

"You are not allowed to conduct family business at Hogwarts."

She looked directly and defiantly at him and he could practically feel her Occlumency shields without trying. "I never said that anything would happen at Hogwarts."

That was it, time to fold his hand and do what he could to protect his prat of a godson. "Very well, I will let the Headmaster handle this." He then noticed her clutching three wands and said, "I will need those wands, Greengrass."

She nodded and gave them to him but when they turned to go, he saw her trying to follow. "Only the ones involved in the incident are required, Greengrass. Return to your dorm." She got a momentary defiant look but then quickly complied. Severus briefly wondered what she might be up to but dismissed it as he had more immediate issues to deal with.

* * *

Cyrus was reviewing some permit forms he needed for importing restricted potions ingredients. He pitied the poor Ministry worker who had to review these tedious forms but not as much as he felt sorry for himself. He was surprised when he felt his parchment linked to Daphne heat up in his pocket. A contact at this time of day might be urgent so he dropped the forms and pulled out the parchment and it was indeed urgent.

 **Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle attacked Astoria and Jessica. They're fine but Snape is taking them to Dumbledore for punishment now. You have to hurry if you want to be there.**

He did indeed want to be there but leaving without telling his wife would get him in more trouble than he cared to be involved in. "Mipsy!" His house elf dutifully appeared and he bent down to talk to her he noticed that she seemed to be putting on weight, was she already pregnant? He pushed that away for later contemplation. "Take me to Roxanne."

He appeared in the sitting room and his wife was startled from the book she was reading. She put it aside and stood to ask, "What's wrong?"

"I got a message from Daphne, Astoria was attacked but she's fine. They're having a meeting for the punishment of the boys responsible and I intend to be there."

"As do i!" He could see the fire in her eyes and didn't even consider arguing with her.

He turned to Mipsy who was wringing her hands in anxiety, "Can you take us to Hogwarts?"

"Mipsy is sorry, Master. Mipsy has never been there."

His heart sank, they could go on their own but it would take time they didn't seem to have. He was startled when his wife shouted, "Dobby!"

There was a pop and he heard, "Dobby is here, Lady Greengrass."

She hurriedly asked, "Can you take us to Hogwarts?"

Dobby nodded his head energetically as he asked, "Where in Hoggywarts does Lady want to be?"

She looked to Cyrus who said, "Near Dumbledore's office."

"Dobby can take you where Dobby was freed! It is being right in front of Dumblydoor's office!"

They both reached out their hands to him and he disappeared with them as soon as they had gripped his hands.

* * *

Albus had had a feeling that things had been going too well lately as he idly wondered what problem Severus could be taking to him now. He watched as Severus brought a very odd collection of third years and it appeared to be first years – wait, was that Cyrus Greengrass' youngest? This could be bad, he just knew it would be as a hard knot balled up in his stomach.

He glanced at one of the third years who seemed to be in distress as he'd had assistance walking and now stood somewhat awkwardly while grimacing. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was wrong with the boy. He conjured extra chairs but only the first years sat down, the boys didn't seem to be interested.

"Is somebody going to tell me why all of you are here?"

He had expected Severus to be the spokesman but he seemed oddly reluctant. "Miss Astoria Greengrass alleges that these boys attacked her."

This was even worse than he'd been imagining! Then he got a notification from his gargoyle that someone he really hoped not to see had arrived. The youngest Greengrass had only begun to glare at her head of house when Albus felt the need to intervene.

"I believe we should pause for a moment. The chairman of the board of governors is here." He saw Severus stiffen slightly and then all emotion left his face. This was about to get delicate for both of them. The door burst open and an angry Lord Greengrass appeared and right behind him, equally irate, came Lady Greengrass. They both approached their daughter who responded by clutching her mother in a hug. Her mother had been somewhat preoccupied glaring at Severus but she immediately turned to her daughter and not only comforted her but also her friend, the Baggins girl.

Albus decided to try to regain some control of the situation. "We were just beginning but it is most unusual for a member of the board to involve themselves in the day to day operation of the school."

"So attacks between students are a normal course of business here?"

Albus had to suppress his pique at such an accusation as he had to tread lightly, Lord Greengrass might have some minor point of validity. "Of course not, but this is a matter of discipline."

"Which involves one of my daughters so as a parent I am here."

Well, that pretty much pulled the rug out from under him. The school charter explicitly stated that he could not interfere with a parent or guardian's access to their child. The fact that the parent also was the chairman of the board of governors did not change that fact. He had no choice but to proceed with the parents present.

"That is, of course, your prerogative Lord Greengrass. We were just about to establish the facts of the case. I wonder, Miss Greengrass, are you familiar with Pensieves?"

She looked just a touch haughty as she replied, "Of course."

"Very well, would you be willing to supply your memory of the event?"

The girl stood confidently and declared, "With pleasure." She then turned to the boys and gave them a malicious looking smile although one remained unaware, seemingly concentrating on his breathing, while the other two looked sullen. Albus rose and removed his Pensieve from a cabinet and placed it on his desk near the Greengrasses.

In the meantime, Lord Greengrass seemed to have noticed something. "What is that you are holding, Astoria?"

He saw the girl smirk up at her father as she presented it to him. "This is the invisibility cloak Malfoy was wearing when he attacked us."

Lord Greengrass took it and examined it as he drawled, "A most unusual thing for a student to bring to school." Albus began to wonder if he knew of Harry's cloak but he must if his suspicions were correct, was this a test? Lord Greengrass put it on his desk as he remarked, "I believe this should be confiscated."

He could agree on that. "Indeed but first we need to establish what happened." He then looked at Astoria and said, "You can place the memory in here and we will get to the bottom of this."

He was impressed when the girl concentrated and although her first attempt failed, her second was successful. Given the need to supervise the students, he decided to project the memory above the device instead of immersing themselves and tapped the proper runes to accomplish that.

He watched the scene unfold which started with two of the boys following the girls as they made their way towards the dorm rooms. He gave a wince as the younger Greengrass kicked the unfortunate third year who was still trying to recover but he noted that Lady Greengrass gave her daughter a proud look and a pat on the back. The intentions of the boys were clearly implied but they had actually done little. Still, being inept was not much of a defence so he must assign significant punishment for this or things might go very badly at the next board of governors meeting.

He turned to look at the boys when the memory ended and saw that the Malfoy heir was still trying to look defiant, he had to do something about that. "Boys, do you have anything to say in your defence?"

They all remained silent while two stared at the floor and Malfoy tried to look haughty but wasn't doing a very good job of it. "Very well. All three of you will have detention every Saturday for the rest of this term from the end of breakfast until the beginning of dinner. Your first detention will be served with Mr. Filch, others will be decided later. In addition, Mr. Malfoy, due to your obvious lack of remorse you will also have detention every other Sunday until the end of term, beginning this coming Sunday. Also, your invisibility cloak will stay with me until I feel you have learned your lesson."

Albus was surprised to hear Severus' deep voice. "Did you fail to notice that Heir Malfoy did nothing?"

He was disappointed but not nearly as irate as Lady Greengrass appeared as for a moment he had thought she would go for her wand. "Severus, I hardly think ineptitude is a very good defence for what he had obviously planned to do."

Lord Greengrass' stern voice then was heard, "I would also think that you would be trying to protect the victims in this attack who are in your care." Strong contempt was also evident towards the end of his sentence but Severus appeared unaffected.

"They seem to be capable of defending themselves."

That had been the wrong thing to say as Cyrus' eyes nearly glowed. "In that case, I believe it is time we started looking for a new head of Slytherin House." Severus stiffened slightly and Albus noted that Lady Greengrass seemed to be planning how to hex Severus so he had to diffuse this quickly.

Albus then addressed Snape. "I trust that you will take precautions to ensure the safety of all those in your house?"

Severus' voice was dead and unemotional as he replied, obviously having brought his Occlumency up to full, "Of course."

Albus looked to Cyrus who was glaring at Severus and when he noticed Albus' look he said, "I will be watching this situation, Professor Snape. I expect you to fulfil your duties to all students under your care."

Severus merely nodded and Albus wondered how long this détente might last.

* * *

Severus Snape had done many things that he wasn't proud of in his life but he didn't think he had ever been this embarrassed before in his entire life. Having one of Lily's friends looking at him with so much contempt couldn't help but conjure up an image of Lily's disappointment and disdain for him after the worst mistake of his life. If there was an afterlife, could she be giving him the same look now? He didn't think he wanted to know.

His own godson had put him into this horrible position so he'd get no mercy from him. The boy would serve his whole detention and he wouldn't interfere so perhaps the idiot would finally begin to realize that there are consequences to one's actions. That was a lesson that he himself had learned the hard way so let the boy realize that now before he went any deeper into the darkness his father had been leading the boy into.

He led the five Slytherins back to the common room and let his anger at himself and this situation show in his face so all of his house would know how serious he was about what he was going to say very soon. He stalked into the common room and as soon as he spotted a prefect he announced, "Get everyone in here. I must talk to everyone at once."

His tone brooked no argument so the prefects practically fled the room to carry out his instructions. He waited impatiently for everyone to gather and when he saw the elder Greengrass go over and murmur with her sister, he ignored them, they may be the ones who would report on what he did but they were not the root cause of his problems.

When all of the mostly nervous students were assembled he began to speak with his most serious and menacing tone, his eyes sweeping across them, occasionally holding eye contact with those foolish enough to look him in the eyes. "Three of our house have seen fit to embarrass us all and attacked two of our own. I will not tolerate any more such foolishness. I had warned you about the enforcement of rules this year but three of you saw fit to ignore my warning. Let me make this clear to all of you. I will NOT tolerate any more embarrassment from the members of this house! If you cannot moderate your behaviour then leave! I will NOT protect anyone who makes us all look bad! This is your final warning, you do NOT want to put me into this position again. DO YOU ALL UNDERSTAND!?"

He bellowed the last part and got the reaction he desired. Even the upper years and members of the elite families had looked disconcerted. Perhaps the dunderheads had finally gotten the message! He swept out of the room and stalked to his quarters, he needed a drink.

* * *

Sophronia Selwyn did not get to her position of de-facto head of the students of Slytherin by being complacent or unobservant. She had sensed a change in the political power within Slytherin the moment that Snape backed down from giving the boys a slap on the wrist. She still didn't know what punishment those three third year idiots had gotten from the headmaster but it must have not only been severe, it had also made Snape look bad as their head of house.

The fact that the new chairman of the board of governors had two children in Slytherin this year had, of course, not escaped her attention. However, given the normal placidity of the board unless driven to something by Lord Malfoy had made her underestimate the impact of this fact. She should have also paid more attention to Lord Greengrass' presence at the train station, she'd assumed it was only to see his daughters but it was probably more than that. Snape must be aware of greater attention on what is going on in Slytherin, otherwise he would NEVER have backed down to a student and in front of witnesses to boot. Snape being so angry as to have an unseemly outburst in front of the whole house just underlined the importance of this shift. This was nothing minor, this was major and this was important and she saw an opportunity for herself.

There was still stunned silence when she reached her conclusion but a buzz of several quiet conversations soon broke out. Before everyone began to disperse, she had to take quick action to get things started. She looked for the nearest prefect and spoke to Flint. "Get the others together, prefect meeting now."

For a moment, she thought he might push back but a glare from her reminded him of who she was so he grudgingly complied. Flint may be a stupid brute but he did have his uses and when given a mission, he could be brutally efficient and he soon had the four other prefects assembled with himself for her. She cast a privacy spell over the group and noticed raised eyebrows from the smarter ones as they knew this was not an ordinary meeting.

She gave them all a stern look and demanded, "Did any of you know of bad blood between Malfoy and Greengrass?"

They all quickly indicated that they had not been aware of anything like that. "Fine. Now we know and we must be all be more vigilant. Watch Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, or any other troublemakers for that matter.…" She stared at Flint as she said that but he didn't seem to realize her implication. "… as we cannot afford any more embarrassments like what just happened. That includes incidents with other houses so if Malfoy restarts his pissing contest with Potter or goes after Longbottom again, nip it in the bud. Anybody who ignores potential trouble for our house will have to answer to me!"

She glared at the lot of them and although Flint tried to glare back, even he eventually capitulated and agreed. Williams looked completely cowed and embarrassed, it was a little unnerving how easily some in her house could be dominated. On the other hand, it made things easier for her.

She dismissed them and then tried to think further ahead. She'd have to find a way to approach Heiress Greengrass either way but she began to wonder, could this signal a shift beyond just Hogwarts? Lord Greengrass led The Greys, a shift towards neutrality could be coming if his power play extended to the Wizengamot and society in general. That would suit the public perception the Selwyn family desired so she should pass this on to her father for his consideration and possible sharing of the information with his uncle, the Lord Selwyn. Things might be about to become more interesting and that usually meant opportunities.

* * *

Hermione was lost in her transfiguration book as she waited for the boys to come down for breakfast and was only drawn from her musings regarding their next lesson's topic when someone collapsed a little forcefully onto the couch she was occupying. She glanced over to see Harry but her initial inclination to greet him died in her throat when she took in his demeanour. Harry was definitely harder to read these days but he hadn't managed to mask all of his tells and she got the impression that he was fuming and decided to get to the bottom of this before his mood became too entrenched and he started brooding.

She deliberately tried to sound casual as she asked, "What's wrong?"

He gave her a slightly surprised look followed by a small blush as he began to look a little sheepish. All of these reactions were smaller than they had been in the past but they didn't escape her notice. He recovered to give her an attempt at a grin as he asked, "Is it that obvious?"

"Only to someone who knows you like I do." She tried to give him a reassuring smile and it seemed to work as his grin grew and became more convincing, his shoulders relaxed minutely and the tightness around his eyes receded.

He glanced around and after a murmured privacy spell he answered her, his eyes becoming flinty hard again. "Malfoy attacked Astoria yesterday." The fingers of his wand hand clenched and unclenched as he spoke, "She's fine but she's like my little sister and I can't just let this go. Malfoy and I are going to have a talk and he's definitely not going to enjoy it."

As she considered his tone and body language, she realized that there might be more hexing than talking if Harry sought out Malfoy. Given the supposed shift to a more egalitarian enforcement of the rules she hoped that the punishment for the attack had already been taken care of and didn't want Harry getting into any needless trouble.

She had tried to reduce her tendency to lecture other students but she allowed a little of that come out as she reminded him of some facts. "The professors handle punishments, Harry. I'm sure he must have earned some detention or something."

Harry didn't seem to like what she said but it seemed to cool him off as he again showed a hint of sheepishness and as she continued to watch him she lifted one eyebrow until he finally cracked.

His voice was a touch reluctant as he admitted, "Yeah, he has detention for the rest of term."

She increased her smile a bit before she responded, just to help ease the tension. "See? It's taken care of so you don't need to look for trouble. Besides isn't your Greengrass connection supposed to be a secret?"

She could tell from his momentary chagrined reaction that she'd finally gotten through to him. He huffed, rolled his eyes at her a little playfully and then conceded, "Yeah, I guess you're right but if he pulls something else…."

She let that slide as she continued to grin at him. Then he got a more playful look before he spoke again.

"So you're fulfilling your big sister role by keeping me out of trouble?"

She deliberately tried to sound a little smug as she answered, "Exactly." They grinned at each other and only snapped out of it as Ron and Neville arrived. Neville greeted her politely but Ron only mumbled that he was hungry and they should get a move on. She rolled her eyes as it seemed that no matter how much some things changed, some things stayed the same so she placed her book back in her bag and rose to follow the boys as they began to head out.

* * *

Narcissa was clutching the note from Severus Snape so tightly that her hand hurt. The only thing she had left was her son and now the idiot goes and attacks someone from a major house, did he have a death wish? She knew it was due to the influence of his father and she should never have allowed the private meeting between them. She just had a hard time saying no when Draco had wanted the meeting so badly so she had given in. She had been a fool but now she had to be the mother Draco needed rather than the one he might want. She had to do something about this and do it quickly before things spiralled out of control.

If she truly wanted to get out of this farce of a marriage that she was trapped in, there was only one thing to do. She had to perform the ritual to contact the head of her birth house, the Lord Black. Then she had to hope he might have the inclination and a way to help her save Draco from himself and his father.


	13. Through a Glass Darkly

Chapter 13 Through a Glass Darkly

A/N: Special thanks to my beta Shygui for suggesting the quote for this chapter and I also borrowed an idea from his story in this chapter. A sentence all in bold is something written. Also, thanks to all who are reading and reviewing.

People are like stained - glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Dolores Umbridge sat back in her chair alone in her office pondering what had been going on with her latest project. There hadn't even been a sighting of Black and the only thing of significance that happened regarding Hogwarts was slightly embarrassing. Fortunately, she'd been able to moderate what had been printed about the incident, it wasn't that hard to put some pressure on Cuffe if you had the right leverage.

She'd been lucky with the investigation as Shacklebolt had been smart enough to omit her and the dementor who had approached her out of his report. Even the puzzling conclusion that a dementor had died had turned out to be useful as they'd come up one short on their count of dementors. If one had gone rogue on her, even she wouldn't have been able to stifle the outcry on that. It was much better to point out that one had died on the Hogwarts Express than to go through that.

She was very frustrated that her sources for information from Hogwarts were very limited. Before, she could have found out whatever she wanted from Lucius, not only did he have a son there, he'd been the chairman of the board of governors! Now, that fine, upstanding gentleman was languishing in Azkaban where he'd do no one any good. She shook her head in disgust at the stupidity of it all.

His replacement was most uncooperative and had always kept her at arm's length in all of their dealings. If anything, he was even more firm about that now, the blasted prat. This left her with slim pickings for useful intelligence. Sure, she could get the gist of popular rumours like the nonsense that it had been Potter that had killed the dementor. A boy who'd yet to start his third year killing a dementor? What absolute, useless rubbish!

Although the latest rumour was a bit more intriguing, that the Greengrass sisters had ganged up on the poor Malfoy heir. Was Greengrass making a grab for power? He was certainly making certain that his potential rivals were out of the way. She'd heard the rumblings about Greengrass paving the way for the guilty verdict on Lord Malfoy and now his spawn were after his defenceless son. She wished she could do something about that and get Lucius back but she didn't see the way to get that done right now. Lord Greengrass had planned and executed his plans well but she'd watch for any signs of weakness. Eventually, an enemy would make a mistake and one had to be ready to pounce.

Her first priority had to be getting better information out of Hogwarts. Perhaps she should approach the Selwyns? They were related after all but then her confidence faltered a bit as she recalled that a lot of people in the magical world were related, that alone would not get her much. What could she offer Lord Selwyn? Perhaps some dirt on Greengrass? She had a lot to think about but more importantly, she had to find a way to act.

* * *

"It boils down to a case of not realizing what you had until it was gone, really. I was too busy trying to run away from my past and trying to be there for James to put much effort into our relationship. I even only put in as much work at being an Auror as I needed to be a good partner for James. I was such an idiot back then."

As Sirius shook his head in dismay, Sami felt he was being a little hard on himself but it was best to approach it indirectly and make him realize things on his own. "Everyone has priorities and it can be difficult to find the right balance."

Sirius stared down at the floor for a moment before looking at her again to speak. "I didn't even try to find a balance or even look beyond what was right in front of me. I did it again when I wasn't there for Harry. If I'd really wanted to take Harry from Hagrid, I could have. He may be a half-giant but a full wizard he is not. I let his resistance deflect me and I went after the traitor instead of fulfilling my responsibilities as godfather. Sure, I'd like to have to have a pointed discussion with Dumbledore, but I blame myself more than anyone."

Sami was getting mixed signals from him, on one hand he was castigating himself harshly but on the other he was not acting depressed or defeated. She had yet to determine if this self-criticism was motivating him or not. "So what are you planning to do now?"

A grim smile appeared on Sirius' face. "In a nutshell, the plan is to take life more seriously and to face up to my responsibilities and not let myself get distracted." He held up one finger and continued. "First and foremost, I will be there for Harry. The only thing I can do for James and Lily now is to be the godfather that Harry deserves and they wanted when they chose me. I'm very lucky in that I have a lot of help with that so I'm going to have to know when to let Cyrus and Roxy play their parts. Harry is really starting to come into his own, he already seems to know when to come to me and when to go to Cyrus or Roxy but nothing and I mean _**nothing**_ will prevent me from being there for my pup!"

She had no doubt about his conviction on that point, in fact she pitied anyone who tried to go after Harry where Sirius could do something about it.

He held up another finger, giving her an unreadable look. "Two, learn my lesson about Marlene, if I get another chance with a good witch, I will do my best to be there for her and allow her to be there for me."

Then he held up a third finger and she listened intently. "Third, I will assume my responsibilities as the Lord Black. I will lead my family away from the precipice of darkness that we stand on. In the past, the Blacks had a legacy of power and wealth but more recently one of darkness and madness. It is up to me to guide what is left of the family towards a more productive existence, towards greatness once again."

Another finger appeared as he continued, "Fourth, I will endeavour to fulfil my responsibilities to the magical society at large. For too long have the Blacks been a negative influence regarding tolerance or progress in our society. I may not be totally sold on Dumbledore's leadership but I will try to lead society as a whole towards the ideals he usually espouses. We have deep divisions in our society and are much too stuck in the past. We have to face the future and take responsibility for it, continuing as we have been will have us walking in circles with no clear direction."

She tried to keep the surprise from her face, she was tempted to vote for him as Minister on the spot! She should have asked these questions before, she now realized that he had learned important lessons and had ambitious plans. She had continued the therapy after his obvious progress because she wanted to make sure he could navigate his own course and he had just proven that he could. Add to that the fact that she was still surprised by his rapid progress and again wondered about that family ring he wore and if it might be a reason for his rapid recovery. She felt a little guilty that her desire to continue these meetings with him may have also played a factor, it was time to let go and see what would happen.

"As I have mentioned before, you are making good progress and as of now, any further sessions would be voluntary on your part. You will face adversity again as everyone does but now I believe you are ready to face it. Never forget that I am available for you whenever you need me and if there is anything I can do at all when it is time for you to clear your name, just let me know and I'll be there."

A huge grin blossomed on Sirius' face. "Really? That's fantastic! That means I no longer have to be a burden to the Greengrasses! You are right that clearing my name is high on the agenda but I can't work alone on that, we have to make sure the time is right and if there is something you can do, obviously I will let you know. Thanks, Sami, you've been wonderful."

For a second, she thought he would hug her and she'd prepared to embrace him back but then he gave her a formal bow instead. She was so disconcerted that her curtsy was slow and awkward.

"Well, I don't want to keep you. I have packing to do and preparations to make." He paused with a look of curiosity, "Are you OK?"

Her feelings were screaming to give an honest answer but she was here as his healer so she stuck to that role. "I'm fine. I'll get out of your way then. Please don't be a stranger."

He smiled and said "Of course."

She didn't believe him, his mind seemed to be on what he was doing and she really didn't see a role for herself in his plans. Certainly, she hoped she might be the witch involved in his second point but he had never indicated that to her in any way, it was only in her own head that such a possibility had come up. She gave her farewell while concealing a heavy heart. She had to be satisfied with having helped a patient recover, that's all that she appeared to be able to gain in this case.

She felt very lonely as she headed for the Apparition point as she debated where she should go. That office in the basement held no appeal, she'd see if she was needed at St. Mungo's and if not, she'd head for her flat although she had no idea what she'd do when she got there. She should owl Roxanne and let her know they could remove her from their wards, she had no reason to return.

* * *

Roxanne was working on a letter when Dobby appeared nearby so she looked over at him to see what might be going on. "Lady Greengrass, the dogfather is liking to say goodbye to the Lady."

She assumed that he meant that Sirius wanted to speak with her about when he'd be back so she could let him back in so she got up and replied, "I'll be right there."

Dobby immediately popped away but whether it was to inform Sirius or something else entirely, she had no idea. Dobby was a loyal elf and usually quite helpful but he wasn't the most stable being around. She hid a smile as she thought that same thing might apply to Sirius too.

She was a little surprised to see Sirius sitting outside with two bags with him that looked big enough to hold everything he had with him. This was not looking like another excursion where he'd need to be let back in, he might be moving, which would be a big surprise to her. She knew it would happen someday but she thought that day was still off in the future.

When she was close enough to speak to him she asked, "What's going on?"

Sirius smiled, got up and bowed to her so she automatically curtsied back but she was very puzzled as he hadn't answered her yet.

"I just wanted to let you know that I will no longer be imposing on your hospitality, I am moving to my family home now. I will set up a banishing box with Gringotts today so you can easily owl me if you need to, or Patronus message if it's more urgent. I wanted to thank you and Lord Greengrass for your amazing hospitality. Once things settle down after I am cleared, I will be back in touch about a possible familial alliance of some sort, we have a lot of common ground. I may also be interested in joining Cyrus' faction in the Wizengamot, he and I will have to talk more about that."

She was astonished at the speed of these events but she had questions. "Does this mean that Sami doesn't need any more sessions with you?"

Sirius nodded happily before answering, "Yes, we just finished up our last session, she said I've been doing great and her sessions are no longer needed."

"Oh. You'll stay in touch with her though, right?"

His expression became rather guarded before all emotion left his face. "Of course."

She wasn't sure she believed him but it wasn't her place to argue with him about it. "Well, don't be a stranger. I assume Harry will contact you directly so we may not have much reason to contact each other about him but as you said, we should keep in touch with each other."

"Of course. I consider you and Cyrus friends now and my offer of an alliance is not just rhetoric, I mean it. Until we meet again, milady." He held out his hand and when she put hers in his he kissed her knuckles and smirked at her as he took his leave.

She watched with mixed feelings as he walked jauntily away swinging his bags. She was glad for him; this was a step he needed to take but she was concerned about Sami and to a lesser extent Sirius. Had something happened between them? She thought about contacting Sami but then decided to wait. They were mainly connected professionally, not personally and again, it didn't seem like her business. She shouldn't meddle unless she had good reason to do so.

* * *

Sirius was wandering the house and was pleased at how clean a lot of it was. He ended up in the library and although it was now clean, only Sirius could decide what to do with the books. He was sure there would be some to burn immediately, some useful ones and probably even some valuable ones. The one thing he could count on was that most of them would be about dark magic. You had to know about dark magic to counter it so he wouldn't automatically bin all of them.

He started on the task but his heart wasn't really in it so he finally gave up with only a few books sorted. It had seemed like such a good idea to be in his own place but it was very lonely, he missed Harry and the Greengrasses, Sami, and hell, he even missed Dobby! The kids were off to school but he could still meet the adults. He ought to think about inviting Cyrus and Roxy over for dinner some night. Kreacher was improving as a cook so he knew he could pull off hosting a good meal and it would be a start at trying to pay them back for their own hospitality.

He was still pondering when his family ring surprised him by pulsing and he looked at it in confusion as the only one who might contact him via the family magic was elsewhere in the same house and had no reason to contact him this way. Who could it be? Who would even know that there was a Lord Black to contact? There was only one way to find out.

He raised the ring up and clearly said, "Speak to me."

He heard a familiar voice although he didn't place it until she had finished her initial message. "A daughter of House Black petitions her Lord for a boon."

Cissy? His first inclination was to cut off the connection and ignore her but he was forestalled by two things. First, he felt an obligation to hear her out, it was part of his responsibilities as the Lord Black. Second, he remembered the Cissy from before Hogwarts. She had been a pleasant playmate and friend and since she'd been a year ahead of him, they hadn't had much chance to clash in Hogwarts. Being in rival houses, they hadn't been close but neither had they been enemies. He had stopped thinking about her when she'd been contracted to marry Lucius Malfoy.

In retrospect, that was probably unfair to her as she had been contracted to marry him, she had not chosen him. He'd known that his grandfather and Abraxas Malfoy had been friends, they'd probably arranged it between them. Abraxas had been somewhat more moderate than his son, perhaps his grandfather hadn't realized the type of man that Lucius would become. Regardless, Cissy had not chosen him nor married for love so he felt he shouldn't hold her husband against her.

He would hear her out and carefully consider her request, he owed her that at least. "Continue."

"Thank you, milord. I petition you to terminate my marriage contract for breach of terms. I petition you to help me keep my son from the dark path his father has set him on, I fear for his life if he continues as he has. He is a grandson of Black, I petition for him to be recognized as a Black if my Lord will allow this. Please help me, milord, I will await your word."

The connection was broken from her end and Sirius continued to stare at the ring, speechless. Well, he certainly hadn't expected _that_.

* * *

Daphne was leaving the dorm area with Tracey on her way to dinner only to be approached by Sophronia Selwyn herself. She'd noticed her when she was on the scene where her sister was attacked, of course, but had not really interacted with her. Now, she was approaching with the clear intent to finally speak with her. She wondered if that had something to do with the attack or if her father knew something that he hadn't shared with her as he'd asked about this very student who was now approaching her for the first time ever.

Selwyn gave her a small curtsy and Daphne automatically came up with the proper response of a nod of recognition. Their families were equals but Daphne was the Heir while Selwyn was not, that created the difference in status between them regardless of whether Selwyn was older or a prefect. Daphne's mind was swarming with possibilities as her ice queen façade settled firmly into place, she could not afford any mistakes.

"Might I have a moment of your time, Heiress Greengrass?"

Very formal and a little more deferential than would normally be called for. This might be family business of some sort despite the prohibition, she had to be VERY careful now. She motioned for Tracey to not follow before answering, "Of course, Scion Selwyn."

She followed Selwyn towards an empty part of the common room where Selwyn cast a privacy charm around them. Daphne had had to resist a strong urge to pull her own wand but that would have been a mistake that would jeopardize whatever was about to happen so she waited stoically. Selwyn invited her to sit before doing so herself. She noted a worried Tracey watching in her peripheral vision but kept her focus on Selwyn where it had to be.

"First, Heiress Greengrass, I wanted you to know that I have taken steps to prevent any further incidents with Malfoy or his cronies but if you become aware of any issues, I would appreciate you sharing them with me since we are in different years I cannot know all that happens with your year-mates."

That was a very careful smile she had on her face, she wanted to seem solicitous but she wanted something, the problem was figuring out what it was. "I appreciate your concern about the recent incident involving my sister. I wonder what else what you wanted to bring up with me."

There was an artful lift of one of her eyebrows and a bit more amusement in her smile. "I just wanted you to be aware of my interest in keeping the peace, it is part of my job after all."

That was interesting as well but was she speaking of her role as prefect or the general perception of her being the self-appointed leader of the Slytherin house students? Then she continued and Daphne concentrated on that.

"I also wanted to volunteer myself as a conduit for any… communications that might be necessary. House Selwyn has interest in any changes that might be coming towards us in the future."

Daphne had to firmly apply her Occlumency, this was dangerously close to being house business. Was her father up to something? She didn't think he would normally leave her in the dark as his heir but there was the possibility of it being advantageous for her to have plausible deniability in something not completely above-board. Would her father do that? Did Selwyn know something or was she guessing? She REALLY needed to communicate with her father but she didn't want to give away any of her concerns or ignorance.

"I will keep that in mind, Scion Selwyn. Was there anything else?"

"No, I believe we have covered everything we need to cover for now, Heiress Greengrass. Have a pleasant day."

She was leaning forward as if sharing a confidence. Was she playing to an audience or was she trying to make her feel as if they had formed a partnership already? "You as well, Scion Selwyn."

She gave her a gracious nod and she left as calmly as she could but as much as she wanted to run to her dorm and ask her father what the bloody hell was going on, she had to seem calm and collected so she re-joined Tracey and went to dinner. She just wasn't sure how much of an appetite she would have as the possibilities continued to churn within her mind.

* * *

Alexia Smith didn't allow herself to think of the consequences of the order she had just fulfilled until the old house elf had departed. She had sold robes fit for a Lord with the Black coat of arms on them. That meant there was someone who was ready to take that role and it scared her. She'd heard that it was the Malfoy heir who would also inherit the Black headship but he was still a boy in school. The only male Black she knew of was the escaped murderer, Sirius Black.

Sure, there was some recent confusion regarding whether he had been the Potters' secret keeper or not but he was still a convicted murderer from a family of killers. Was he planning a reign of terror? Should she warn someone?

She wanted to but fear stopped her, she had heard of the Blacks for all of her life and amongst the people she knew, it was considered good news that the mighty House of Black seemed to have fallen. If they were back though, she knew what happened to people who crossed the Blacks, they were lucky if they ended up dead as there were worse fates that had befallen some of the enemies of the Blacks. If she tried to warn anyone, it would likely eventually get back to the Blacks, they always seemed to know. Then, she would have to live what was left of her life looking over her shoulder for when retribution finally came.

She wasn't proud of it but she didn't have the courage to face that future. The hat had put her in Hufflepuff, not Gryffindor and there had been a good reason for that. She was not the sort to stick out her neck and the last family she wanted to provoke was the Blacks. If she had any confidence in self-obliviation she'd do it that moment but she didn't want to end up a vegetable. She would keep this secret for her own sake but she'd be wary and ready to retreat from any sign of trouble. She didn't feel up to doing anything more and also, Twilfitt & Tattings was known for their discretion and she didn't want to be fired.

* * *

Harry had noticed that Daphne looked especially stoic at dinner but didn't think too much of it until he got a late request to meet in their room. He knew it must be something important so he agreed, packed up his homework, put it away and headed to their room wearing his cloak. As he was nearing the room he saw a very vigilant Daphne headed that way too so he decided to slow down to let her get there first and to cover her back. He saw no tell-tale glow to indicate an invisibility cloak so after checking around, he entered the room too.

When he entered and took off his cloak, she seemed to freeze and stare at him as she stopped pacing abruptly. He decided to secure the door first and barely got turned back around before she enveloped him in a hug. He was really beginning to appreciate how Daphne was greeting him these days but this time she seemed a bit tense. He gently ran what he thought was a soothing hand along her spine giving what comfort he could, as soon as she seemed to relax he asked, "What happened this time?'

"Nothing like the boggart if that's what you're thinking." Then she suddenly pulled back and looked up at him as she asked, "Did my father and Sirius talk to you about Sophronia Selwyn?"

Harry was startled by the question and then pondered what to tell her and then decided that most of it was hardly worth keeping secret. However, he'd hesitated long enough that her eyes were narrowing and he knew he'd best start talking fast. "Yeah, she came up because Sirius said the Blacks and Selwyns have some sort of alliance. He said that she might see me as some sort of ally and try to contact him through me."

Her face relaxed as she pondered what he'd said but then she looked up at him again curiously. "This would be when he's cleared, right?"

"Right." He wondered what she was getting at but she continued before he could ask.

"That wouldn't explain her approaching me then." She looked thoughtful as Harry began to consider that she'd approached Daphne but he had no clue why that might be. She waved towards the desks as she said, "Let's sit." She sighed, "This might take a while."

He went along with her suggestion and waited for to continue the conversation. "Selwyn approached me just before I came up for dinner and acted like she wanted to be an ally or friend or something. Father and I talked about it and although Lord Selwyn may have been reacting to father's attempts to build support for Sirius in the Wizengamot, the fact that Selwyn approached me we think is probably more likely due to what she saw after the attack on Astoria."

"As I told you, Snape backed down in front of witnesses, I figured that might bring some attention to me but her approaching me wasn't what I was expecting. She seemed to think that father was up to something outside of Hogwarts so it may relate to what father has been doing too, we're not certain. Anyway, I wanted you to be aware of this and if they suspect about Sirius, I suppose she might approach you too."

He felt so unprepared for this. "What should I do?"

"Be careful and don't give anything away but above all stay calm. If she senses any weakness she will keep trying, put her off and tell Sirius and me about any contacts, who knows she might give something away. Sometimes you have to give something to get something and she might try that."

Harry mulled that over and decided that his Occlumency was probably good enough to pull that off. However, it might help to know more about her. "What is she like?"

Daphne didn't seem to like that question but cleared her face after a momentary frown and answered him. "I don't really know her well but she is a seventh year and most see her as the de-facto student leader of our house. Her family is powerful and she has a reputation for being formidable herself. She's quick with a wand and casts silently so magically she is very capable. She has a lot of the members of our house intimidated and I certainly am not interested in provoking her. I was polite but didn't give much away, I tried to make her think I knew what was going on even though I was clueless at that point. I'd been thinking that she knew something that I didn't but after communicating with father I no longer think that is the case."

Harry still wasn't sure how aggressive she might be. "Did she try Legilimency?"

Daphne shook her head before she started answering. "No, I would have felt that plus the amulet would have reacted and protected me anyway. I don't think she would try that although I'm ninety percent sure she knows how. She seems interested in cooperation not confrontation, trying Legilimency would be an attack and wouldn't fit her approach to me. Have you had any contact with her?"

"No, never. I was just curious because Sirius brought her up and then she contacted you." And she might try to make a move on him but he certainly didn't want to open that can of worms. That may even be why she frowned earlier but that did bring up another question he'd been forgetting to ask.

"Some girls have been acting differently towards me and I wondered what I should do if they start acting like they want to date me or something. What should I do if I'm approached?" Oops, it looked like he opened that can of worms anyway as anger showed on her face very quickly.

"Who?!"

He quickly decided the safest thing to do was to throw the girls under the bus even though it wasn't a very Gryffindor thing to do. "Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin." Based on Daphne's expression, those two girls might be in for a bad time but then her face softened as she pondered further.

"Actually, that's a good question. I guess the easiest thing to do is to pretend you are still not ready for dating, which seems to be true for most of the guys in our year. Next year it will be a little more difficult to pull that off, we'll have to have a new plan for then. What have you been doing?"

"I pretend that I didn't notice them but the first time it happened, on the train when I encountered Lisa I was taken by surprise, I probably looked a little baffled that time."

She got a small smirk as she looked at him. "That actually supports the plan. If you can't ignore them, pretend you are clueless."

Harry felt a little disgruntled by the suggestion but certainly didn't have any better ideas so he agreed. Besides, it wouldn't be far off from the way he felt as he knew that he had a lot to learn about girls.

* * *

Cyrus had a private banishing box with an address he gave to only a select few, those that might have urgent news for him or where the privacy of the contact was important. That box came with him and was either in his office or in the den of his home, whichever place he might be. However, since the address was given to so few people, its use was rare enough that he didn't know what was trying to get his attention until his eyes actually fell upon the banishing box. He quickly retrieved an envelope from it and noted the secrecy charm on it. He used the charm with the proper password and was able to open it unhindered.

He eagerly read the contents and although his hopes rose at first, they quickly fell again. By the time he reached the end of the missive, he heaved a sigh of frustration. They finally had a lead but the man had gotten away – again. He considered the content of the letter and decided there was nothing he couldn't share with Sirius so he duplicated it and promptly sent it to Sirius' new banishing box then he sat back to contemplate what he had learned.

Peter Pettigrew had been traced to the humble abode of a barely trained witch named Rana. She had healed him for a badly injured leg and his repayment was to attack her during the night once he was well. Unfortunately for the traitorous rat, she knew enough runes to have a rudimentary yet still potent ward that had badly burned the man and he had had to flee again. He certainly wouldn't be returning to Rana for healing as the irate witch wanted him dead. For some money, she was quite willing to spill all she knew about the man but unfortunately, she had no idea what his plans were or where he might have gone after fleeing into the night.

The injuries would slow him down so his man might yet catch up to Pettigrew. The problem was that he left little trail to follow so he had no idea when his man might make progress again. Damn, why couldn't the little rat have waited a couple of more weeks? They'd been so close! Then he got a grim smile as he remembered that Peter had used the surname of Black, Sirius wouldn't like that, not one little bit.

* * *

Sirius was so angry that he had to put the report down lest it be crumpled as his hands formed fists. He was shaking with fury and wanted to shout, curse and lay waste to the room but forced himself to do none of those things. He gradually drew himself into an Occlumency trance and slowly relaxed his body and felt calm return to his mind.

He pondered what he had learned and a predatory grin formed on his face and he knew just how to take advantage of this situation. Not only would it increase the chances of capturing the traitor, it might also help him get cleared of all charges. He also had to start framing the terms of an alliance with the Greengrass family, he owed Cyrus too much to let it wait until he was cleared. He may not be able to make it official until he was cleared but they could at least have it ready. He got some parchment and started writing a letter to Cyrus.

* * *

Narcissa was intrigued when what was obviously a Gringotts owl arrived with a letter, she just hoped it wasn't more bad financial news. The owl was in the usual hurry to leave so she didn't realize her assumption was incorrect until it was already gone. It had her name on the front and the seal of House Black on the back and it was quickly obvious that it was sealed with Black family magic. Was this a normal precaution or was this a test to see if she knew how to open it? She suspected the former as she had proven she knew the ritual to contact him, he must be aware of her general knowledge of the family magic.

Still, she didn't get all of the training that Sirius must have gotten as the heir and she wasn't sure how complete it was given his early flight from his home. She had to assume that he knew at least as much as her and not be surprised if he knew more. She applied the proper spell and opened it to find a much smaller note than she might have expected.

 **Cissy,**

 **Regarding your request to terminate your marriage contract, I am inclined to grant that as it would give me considerable pleasure whilst doing so. Regarding your son, I would have to meet with you and him before I can say for certain what I will do about your requests. Unfortunately, I will not be able to accomplish any of this until I have cleared my name. I warn you though that what I have heard from several sources regarding your son is not favourable, it will take some convincing for me to accept him into our family.**

It was unsigned except for the Black family crest applied as only the Lord Black could do it. She was a little surprised that he already had some sources as he didn't seem inclined to follow the family traditions but perhaps she had misjudged him, or just possibly Azkaban had changed him to be more like their family. She was pleased that the answer was so sane, she had had no idea what to expect. She paused as she considered the force of will that would be required to come through Azkaban still sane. A small frown appeared on her face, Sirius just might be much more formidable than she had ever dreamed but she didn't know if that was a good thing for her and Draco or not.

He had given her fair warning that her son's reputation had preceded him. She just hoped she could convince him that he could be saved. That task would be made much more difficult if Draco was with them and unfortunately, that seemed to be his plan. She'd have to take great care to prepare him to properly meet the Lord Black. His tendency to look down on everyone could leave him without a family, which in their society could be a fate worse than death.

* * *

Harry had come early to settle his nerves and to make sure the room was still empty and clean before anyone else got there. Like he knew it would be in the back of his mind, it turned out that everything was in order which left him nothing to do but wait.

He was just going over his opening speech to remind himself to emphasize how difficult it was to cast a corporeal Patronus, he didn't want anyone to have unreasonable expectations. Especially someone like Zacharias who could be a real pain in the arse when events didn't match his expectations.

When the door swung open and his friends arrived en masse, a smile stretched across his lips until he saw all of the rest of his Gryffindor year mates flow in as well. His head tilted as he tried to comprehend what the hell was happening. Hermione had said 'a couple more' had wanted to come, not everyone. Even Fay Dunbar had come and he rarely saw her outside of class yet here she was standing next to Lavender Brown! Then he saw that Ginny and a friend were with them too! He levelled a glare at Hermione who seemed to be avoiding meeting his gaze.

He gave a quiet growl under his breath and was just beginning to console himself that his fellow Gryffindors ought to be an easy audience so his only issue should still be Zacharias, who would hopefully retain some humility from being wrong last year. No sooner had the thought entered his mind when he saw the Puffs show up but once again there were too many of them. He easily identified Jones and Macmillan but came up empty for the name of one of the other blokes.

He'd only begun trying to reconcile himself to a larger class when he saw Ravenclaws troop in behind everyone else. He stared at them all and it looked like the entire third year class had turned up, including Lisa Turpin who was giving him that unnerving grin again. At least Padma wasn't checking him out too. Ugh, this was getting worse and worse.

He wanted to glare at Bones too but decided not to, knowing it would do him no good. He didn't want to reinstate his reputation for being a brooder nor actually be one of course. About the only good thing was that there were no intolerable Slytherins among the group but he wished that Daphne could be here, that would make the situation much more palatable. He rubbed at his temples trying to alleviate his sudden headache and sighed, resolving to make the best of the situation.

His opening speech went pretty much to plan and then he went over how to perform the spell and the sort of thoughts and feelings that were necessary to power the spell. He was just getting them organized to try the spell when he heard the annoying voice of Zacharias Smith, it seems he was reverting to normal and becoming a prat again.

"I think you should show us how to do it, Potter, with you being such an expert and all."

He looked at Zacaharias and was pretty sure that he was thinking that Harry couldn't really do the spell. Why was the wanker here then? He suppressed his pique but as he started to get ready to demonstrate, it suddenly hit him that the one time he had succeeded, he had ended up with a three-day magic moratorium and he certainly didn't want to go through that again! Just to make it worse, he couldn't be absolutely certain he could do it without the urgency he'd faced the last time either. Bugger.

Then he realized that if all he did was worry, he was guaranteeing that he would fail. He had to get the feelings back that had powered his success and his confidence rose as he started to think about Daphne and how he'd wanted to protect her and all of his other friends. He felt his magic surge in response but that reminded him to temper how much magic he put into the spell.

He pointed his wand towards a wall and incanted, "Expecto Patronum!"

There was a surge of mist but it didn't start forming right away so he pushed a little harder and then Prongs formed and started towards the wall but then paused as if in confusion and it looked around the room as if searching for a threat. Harry was ecstatic at his success and looked for Zacharias and saw him gawking like all of the others. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he knew he'd just proven to them all that they should not underestimate Harry Potter.

* * *

Roxanne had finished showering after her workout, she had to be in shape for what was coming. She would not allow herself to give anything less that her best, too much might depend on her abilities. She paused to stretch her tired, stiff muscles and noted that there was something in the banishing box as she headed over to see about lunch. When she saw who it was from, she decided to take care of it first and opened and read the letter.

She lowered the letter and frowned at it once she finished reading. Reading between the lines she felt her earlier concerns had been justified. Sami didn't sound good; Roxanne had seen her at her lowest ebb and if this letter was any indication, she was already reverting to the hollow shell of a woman that she had found in the basement of St. Mungo's. The problem was that she wasn't sure how to respond but a letter wouldn't do as it was too easy to ignore. She would send back an invitation for lunch and she'd handle it face to face.

* * *

The last couple of days had been fairly peaceful despite the resumption of Quidditch practices and Harry was reasonably content with how things were going, at least for now. That changed when he saw an article in the Prophet about a sighting of Sirius Black in France. At first, he found it humorous but then he wondered if it might be true, he knew that Sirius had moved to his old family home so it was possible that he could have gone on holiday. He resolved to find out that evening by contacting Sirius to find out for certain.

He did his homework before and after dinner with his friends as usual but as he finished up what he needed done for the rest of the week, he decided it was time to contact Sirius. Fortunately, the boys' dorm was unoccupied so he took the mirror and sealed and silenced his bed curtains. He looked into the mirror, called "Padfoot" and waited for an answer.

The mirror flashed and then Sirius' smiling face appeared as he said, "Hi, Pup! How are things going?"

Harry was already reassured that his godfather was safe at the moment and he thought the background looked the same so he was probably still at home. "Hi, Padfoot. I read about a Sirius Black sighting in France this morning and decided to make sure you were OK."

Sirius cocked an eyebrow and then looked more earnest. "I appreciate the concern but I am laying low." Then he looked more playful and added, "I saw that article too. Did you see the Quibbler? They claim it was really Stubby Boardman in disguise!"

Harry laughed along with Sirius even though he wasn't sure what in the world he was talking about. When the laughter died down, he decided to be sure that Sirius was safe. "So, you're still at home then?"

"Yeah. I rarely go out and when I do it's under a glamour, nobody would recognize me. Say, that reminds me, look what I have!" Sirius then held up a wand next to his grinning face and Harry was pleased to see both.

"Did you go to Ollivander's?"

Sirius gave him a surprised look and started shaking his head even before he started to answer. "I'm not that reckless, Pup. He might recognize me despite any glamours I might use, it wasn't worth the risk. I got this from the family relics vault here in the house. It's full of the stuff my family didn't want to trust to the goblins, which is daft in my opinion but my family could be rather paranoid at the best of times. Anyway, it belonged to some number of greats uncle of mine that I'd never heard of because he'd had no children. His wand works well enough for me though, not perfect but good."

Harry was satisfied that Sirius was taking the proper precautions so he went back to the earlier odd things that Sirius had said. "Is the Quibbler another newspaper? I've never heard of it."

Sirius barked out a laugh before starting to answer. "No, more of a magazine. It's run by an eccentric old coot named Xenophilius Lovegood and he comes up with the funniest stories but he's usually serious."

Lovegood? That rang a bell… wait! The odd girl he'd met on the train! "Does he have a daughter named Luna?"

Sirius shrugged, "That wouldn't surprise me. He married this odd woman we went to Hogwarts with, Pandora… I forget her family name. Anyway, she was a seer or something and she always seemed somewhat distracted."

That described Luna pretty well too, could she be a seer? He shoved that aside for now as Sirius wouldn't know. "And who is Stubby Boardman?"

Sirius chuckled. "He's an oddball that used to be the lead singer in a band. Who knows, he might be daft enough to try to look like me. It wouldn't be a very healthy thing to do these days; even in France it might be dangerous."

With an internal sigh of relief Harry smiled at Sirius. Luckily, it appeared that he'd been concerned about nothing. "I thought the Prophet report was funny at first but then I thought maybe you'd gone on holiday."

Sirius chuckled as she shook his head. "I'd like to get away for a bit but this isn't the time. We're working on getting me my trial and I want to be available for you too so for now, I'm sticking around. I've been checking into what I own now, even visited the Black account manager at Gringott's. I'm still a valued customer so they don't care that the Ministry wants me kissed. I even own a nice sounding house in France but I've never been there. Maybe someday."

Sirius looked a bit wistful but he still had a small smile so it was all good with Harry. "That's something to look forward to."

That got Sirius' full attention as he looked at his godson with a smirk. "Maybe you should come with me. They have nude beaches there you know and the French birds can be very good looking." He started to waggle his eyebrows at Harry and he felt his face heating up.

"I have a girlfriend! I'm not going to hang out and ogle girls! And what about Sami?"

That wiped the smile off his face. "What about her?"

"I thought you and Sami were getting along well."

Sirius looked guarded. "Of course we do, she is my healer and a damn good one too!"

"I thought she was a friend, maybe even more than that."

Now he looked a little irritated. "Not you too! She's my healer! That isn't appropriate!"

Harry thought that wasn't true anymore but perhaps he'd misunderstood. "She has released you so she's not your healer anymore, right?"

Sirius opened his mouth to retort but then paused and shut it, looking thoughtful. Finally, he looked at Harry again and declared, "It still wouldn't be appropriate."

"I don't see why. I didn't get to know her well but from what I heard; I'd say she was lonely. You remembered each other from before, you must have made an impression on each other."

Sirius seemed a bit flustered and then he asked, "Was there anything else?"

It appeared that Sirius didn't want to discuss it and Harry had cleared up his concerns so he shook his head no. "Ok then. Good night, Pup."

"Good night, Sirius."

Harry sat back against the headboard of his bed and considered the conversation. He really didn't understand why Sirius was trying to avoid Sami. He thought that having a girlfriend was brilliant and although he knew that not every couple worked out, how would you know if you don't try? On the other hand, it was his godfather's duty to mentor him, not his duty to mentor his godfather. Sometimes he wondered if it would be a good thing to try to mentor Sirius though. In some ways, he wasn't sure his godfather was really fully grown up himself.

* * *

Sami was wondering how she'd let herself be talked into this as she appeared in the Greengrass Apparition point. She had thought that her letter was clear and that there was no reason for her to return but somehow, Roxanne had written a letter with an invitation for lunch that she could not politely refuse. She couldn't claim to be too busy; she'd confessed her situation to her when they'd first met and nothing about her professional situation had really changed at St. Mungo's since then.

She was still walking towards the manor house when she saw Roxanne walking towards her to meet at the third ward, the only one she couldn't enter on her own. She was still in disbelief that they hadn't already taken her off their ward access and it still stung about how badly she had misjudged Roxanne, she was nothing like she'd expected a pureblood Lady of a Noble and Most Ancient House to be like. She really had to stop underestimating Roxanne Greengrass.

Roxanne's greeting was very informal and friendly so she responded in kind. The lady of the house put her at ease and they enjoyed a very tasty lunch but spoke of nothing that would justify inviting her over until they were done. She soon learned that her host wanted to discuss a very awkward subject.

"I don't want to interfere in anything that is none of my business but I am also concerned that there may be some miscommunication between you and Sirius."

Oh. She was torn as on one hand this was not something she wanted to talk about but on the other, it was part of professional mantra to talk things out. She could be a hypocrite or she could be uncomfortable so after a brief contemplation she decided the latter was preferable.

"I suppose that is possible but I think Sirius wants a clean break, at least for now. If he wants to contact me, he knows how."

Roxanne nodded pensively for a moment as she stared at the table between them but then looked at her again with a direct gaze. "I won't presume that I know how Sirius thinks better than you do but I do have more years of knowing him. Admittedly, he has changed from the boy I knew at Hogwarts and in some aspects that is a good thing. However, I am also a careful observer and he was most definitely attracted to you, my husband agrees on that point. I am concerned that he has some mistaken impressions that are influencing him to make a poor decision."

She felt a momentary pique at what could be construed as a challenge to her professional competence but she also realized that she had been walking a tightrope pretty much throughout her treatment of Sirius. It was possible that her personal bias may have led her to miss something and in fact even her effort to overcome her bias may have caused her to overlook something as well.

"What mistaken impression is that?"

Again, Roxanne's gaze was direct and almost challenging, it made a shiver go down her spine. "That he isn't worthy of you or possibly that you aren't interested in him."

She tried to muffle her reaction but she'd felt her eyes widen despite her efforts. Roxanne certainly wasn't mincing any words and it was clear that she wouldn't allow her to ignore the elephant in the room any longer. She thought for a moment and decided that she may as well go all in and talk to the one person that might help her make sense of the mess that had developed between her and Sirius.

She quickly decided not to challenge her on her interest in Sirius, she had already promised herself to no longer underestimate Roxanne after all. "Was my interest that obvious?"

A bit of a smirk formed on Roxanne's lips before she said, "Only to anyone who was paying attention."

She sighed as she realized how obvious she must have been. She tried to discern how likely it was that Sirius missed it and realized that it was entirely possible. "Professionally, I am well aware of the fact that our expectations influence what we notice – or fail to notice. I have seen signs of his self-esteem not being fully recovered from his ordeal so what you say makes sense. The thing is, I was busy trying to see things clearly myself as I tried to maintain a professional relationship with my patient." She shook her head in mock despair before she added, "We are quite the pair, aren't we?"

She hadn't been looking at Roxanne so she nearly startled when she reached across and placed her hand on top of one of hers.

"That's just it, I think you two could make a good couple. I'm no expert or anything but I see enough Alchemy there that I think it deserves taking a chance."

Sami had no idea what to say but she gave her a grateful smile as Roxanne pulled her hand back and smiled back at her.

"The one thing I can do for you is give you the benefit of some of my experience. Even though I come from a Noble and Most Ancient House myself, I was never the heir and there were things I had to learn for myself when I became Lady Greengrass."

Sami knew she'd reacted again when Roxanne gave her a sympathetic look and added, "Sirius is the Lord of Noble and Most Ancient House and the woman with him will have to be ready for all that entails. Even though I had some background knowledge that helped me, there were still things that I felt unprepared for. Would you like to hear what I have to say?"

Sami didn't feel her voice would be reliable with how she felt at the moment so she merely nodded and tried to give her a grateful look.

"When I bonded with Cyrus, he was the heir and it seemed like it was just the two of us although Daphne did come fairly soon after that." Roxanne paused with a wistful smile before she refocussed and continued what she was saying. "Astoria was still a baby when Cyrus became Lord Greengrass and then everything seemed to change. As soon as he took up the mantle and the head of house ring, I finally understood why it was tradition for the bride to leave her family and become part of her husband's. I didn't forget being a Lannister and I still had and still have feelings for my own family but as Cyrus' focus came to being Lord Greengrass, mine came to being Lady Greengrass. Nothing really got replaced, subdued a little maybe but more was added and that shifted my focus. What I mean is that I felt the responsibility to the Greengrass family through my bond with the Lord, the head of the family. Supporting Cyrus in his new role became very important to me and it still is."

Roxanne then looked at her and was no longer reminiscing. "I love him deeply but I also feel that responsibility, does that make any sense to you?"

Sami nodded, it made sense to her and would explain some of her own doubts as she'd contemplated the possibility of her and Sirius. "Yes, that makes perfect sense."

Roxanne smiled again as she continued. "Daphne will be experiencing the same thing someday but it might come earlier than I ever imagined with their bond forming already. I sometimes wonder if fate is revolving around Harry as some sort of focal point, that prophecy that links him to Riddle certainly implies that. Putting Riddle down for good may be our generation's greatest contribution to the future of magical society in Britain. I'm just afraid that Harry will have to be involved as he always seems to be in the middle of the madness that goes on at Hogwarts. I truly fear for him and by extension Daphne, losing her bonded would be devastating."

Roxanne looked distracted for a moment and after a shiver, she looked back solemnly at Sami. "For the sake of our daughters and Harry, for the future of all of our children, Cyrus and I are committed to doing whatever is necessary to put Riddle down for good; this cannot be allowed to continue. I can see that resolve in Daphne too, when her bonded is in danger the world will see that Daphne is becoming an imposing witch in her own right. She will fight alongside Harry, she will not allow any harm to come to him if she can help it. I am as certain of that fact as I am of my own dedication to the Greengrass family and if you and Sirius bond you would face that same commitment."

Roxanne paused for a moment before continuing. "Part of that responsibility I feel towards the Greengrass family is to supply an heir but that is something that I have failed to do directly, I just hope that Daphne or perhaps Astoria can finally do that." Roxanne seemed to get lost in sad contemplation so Sami reached out and put her hand over Roxanne's and when she looked up she tried to give her a sympathetic look. It felt good to have the opportunity to return some of the care that Roxanne had shown her. The healer was careful not ask anything in word or body language yet Roxanne seemed to feel an urge to reveal her biggest regret in her marriage.

"My pregnancy with Astoria was difficult but nothing that indicated a permanent issue. I was pregnant with a boy a couple of years later, we thought we finally had our heir." She shut her eyes for a moment, appearing to regather her thoughts but Sami wanted to express her regret for her loss.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, I can't and don't want to imagine losing a child."

Roxanne bit her lip, she seemed close to losing it and she had tears trickling down her cheeks, after all of these years, it obviously still hurt. Sami began to second-guess her decision to offer her condolences, she may have accidentally made Roxanne more emotional. Eventually, Roxanne regained her composure and continued. "I had a miscarriage and the healers weren't sure why. We tried again and it took years before I was pregnant again but that didn't last either. We never even knew if it was a boy or a girl, I lost it early." Roxanne looked down and Sami squeezed her hand to comfort her as she ended with, "Cyrus would no longer risk my health and so we gave up trying."

After a silence, Sami spoke again. "You have two wonderful daughters, I'm sure that the heir will come someday."

She saw Roxanne seem to regain her emotional balance and Roxanne spoke again. "I hope you're right. My point is that even Daphne, who rejects the old notion of a woman's duty to produce an heir, someday even she will want to give an heir to her bonded. She will feel the need through her bond whether she likes it or not but even she will desire it, magic itself will see to that."

"Someday you will have to make the choice too, Sami. Soon Sirius will need a Lady Black at his side and even if he wasn't inclined that way, the magic of his family ring will push him and eventually force him to be inclined that way. Don't take that as him being reluctant, I've seen how he looked at you even before the ring; there is a real attraction between you two and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a beginning of a bond already. Someday, and I think you will need to address this sooner rather than later, Sami, you will have to ask yourself if you are ready to be Lady Black."

Sami was left speechless but her thoughts were raging. This should scare her; this should have her running for the hills! That wasn't what she was feeling though. Despite her feelings towards the pureblood society that seemed to scorn her and her ambitions she was drawn to one who will be taking a prominent role in that society. If what Roxanne was telling her was true, and she had absolutely no reason to doubt her, magic itself would help her take up the role of Lady Black if that ever became possible. She had so much to think about but there was one inescapable fact. She was drawn towards Sirius Black whether she wanted to be or not but fortunately, she wanted to be.

* * *

Sirius felt the excitement course through his body, the Greengrasses were about to arrive so not only would he have some human company, he was also looking forward to hearing how his rat hunting suggestions were working out. Had they proved useful? Were there any new developments? Could they add more to the plan?

He was waiting out near his outer wards, having already ensured that the front of the house would make a better impression than it had made for him. The boundary hedge was trimmed and the front of the house was repaired and repainted so things looked much better. They still had the sides and back of the house to contend with but his guests wouldn't get to see any of that on this particular visit.

There was a soft pop of Apparition and his guests appeared together outside his wards but near enough to the house's wards that they wouldn't be exposed for long. He put on a big smile and greeted them informally and enthusiastically and then led them straight through the wards. He turned back to Cyrus and said, "You are now allowed to enter the wards on your own. My intent when I pulled you through sets that up, my wards work a little differently than yours."

There wasn't much expression on his face but he thought that Cyrus' reaction was gratitude. "Thank you, Sirius. I will reciprocate the next time you visit our home."

"There's no rush but while we are almost on that subject, I also have a proposed framework for an alliance between our houses. I will give that to you for your consideration before you leave. For now though, let's have the dinner that Kreacher has prepared. He's getting good at cooking so I hope you will enjoy the meal."

He led them through the cleaned and repainted entry hall without his mother's painting or the dreadful troll's foot umbrella holder to mar the decor. He had decided to use the smaller dining room as it was on the ground floor, was more informal and had already been revamped, which could not be said for the larger, formal dining room upstairs, which was still an unmitigated disaster of he was being honest.

Kreacher was at his unobtrusive best while serving and addressing their guests and Sirius thought that this just might be his best meal yet, the old elf was really improving. Of course, Kreacher had been dying when he had arrived the first time so he probably was in much better shape overall now both physically and mentally.

The Greengrasses were good guests and appreciative of the meal but he couldn't help but feel that there was something off about Roxy, she was occasionally distracted or looking at him in a strange way. She had this sense about her that she knew something that he didn't, and he recognized the way she tilted her head when studying him a few times from their Hogwarts days but he couldn't imagine what that might be about.

They hadn't talked any business during dinner as per the normal pureblood etiquette but once they relaxed with their after-dinner drinks, it was game on for Sirius. Before he could even ask, Cyrus was pulling out some papers with what was for him was a big grin. Sirius gave him a grin back but said nothing as he'd allow his guest to have his fun. He was a little surprised when he arranged four different small posters in front of him.

Two of the documents were easily identifiable as magical so he was able to read them without any assistance as the magic in them translated the text. One was a wanted poster from the Egyptian Aurors but his personal favourite was the reward poster for Peter's capture. The pictures were very good and he could see that Peter had not aged well, which was the very least that the little rat bastard deserved. He couldn't help but grin widely at seeing the big reward and it elicited a remark from his guest.

Cyrus spoke before he could pull his thoughts together. "As we were warned, the reward poster is the one more likely to get us the results we want. The Aurors there are understaffed, undertrained, underpaid and are next to useless."

"That's a great photograph they have of him, even on the Muggle ones. How did he get them?" Sirius asked, picking up one of the posters as he spoke and eyeing it closely.

"For a donation to her retirement fund, Rana was glad to supply a memory of him. He made both pictures from that source."

Sirius nodded his understanding as he then turned to regard the Muggle posters that he couldn't read at all due to the squiggly Arabic writing, which meant nothing to him. "I assume that one of these is the official poster and the other is the reward?"

"Exactly, one of each on both sides. That ought to put some pressure on him and if this doesn't make it back to Ministry on its own, we may have to send copies to Director Bones just so she is fully aware. The Muggle posters only cover the crimes he committed over there, theft and attempted murder. The magical ones include fourteen counts of murder as you can see."

Sirius knew that his grin must look pretty malicious by this point. "Your man is as good as you said, give him my compliments. What was his name again?"

"Rupert Giles. He's very dedicated and meticulous but a little studious sometimes though. He's expensive but very worth it, he very rarely fails to deliver."

"Agreed, let me know if I need to kick in any more money to keep this going."

"You've already been quite generous. We have enough for two more months already and he has the reward in escrow at a bank over there. We're all set financially, we just need a new lead but I have a lot of faith in Rupert."

* * *

Peter Pettigrew sank into his rickety chair in his dirty little flat with a groan, leaving his take out dinner on the small table for later. He hated his life, living with Muggles in a poor neighbourhood, stealing from Muggles, having to deal with other thieves who had vigorously tried to defend their turf. All of that was beyond what he wanted to deal with at the moment but on top of that, his burns bothered him every day with their pulling and aching. Currently, he only had Muggle medicines available to him and they didn't seem to do much, even the painkillers seemed to wear off quickly.

He really, really hated Muggles but he didn't dare seek out a magical enclave. Rana had survived and he was sure to be a wanted man now. He wasn't sure how good the Aurors were over here but if they were anything like the Muggles, it wasn't a huge worry but still, it was best to remain as anonymous as he could. He'd left Cairo and Rana behind; he was near Alexandria now but he felt that he'd gone as far as he could bear for now.

He'd established himself within the criminal hierarchy here and didn't want to have to go through that again. Necessity was a good teacher so he was improving with his translation charms as well as casting spells unobtrusively. He was doing well enough for now, he was going to stay until he had to move on, hopefully after he had healed as much as possible.

He carefully pulled out Voldemort's wand from the case he had made for it and examined it again. He knew deep down that the scorch marks were never going to leave on their own but he couldn't help examining it again, hoping for a different outcome. This was another reason he wasn't eager to continue on to Albania. His misadventure with Rana's wards had not only damaged him but something that didn't belong to him. It was something that belonged to a sadistic, vengeful bastard who wouldn't accept any excuses when he presented his wand to him. He had thought this would be a good peace offering but now it would likely get him punished and his attempts at Reparo had borne no fruit at all. He sighed once more before putting the wand back in its case, he really, really hated his life.

* * *

Sirius was startled from his reading of the Black family grimoire by excited chatter from Kreacher. First, it was very odd that Kreacher was excited at all but he'd said something about the 'mistress is here' and that was absolute rubbish. His mother was dead and she wasn't coming back, even his luck wasn't THAT bad.

He calmly set the book aside and gave Kreacher a serious look as the elf was practically bouncing up and down and wringing his hands. "What did you say?"

"The mistress is here! She wishes to see you!"

OK, he had said that the mistress was here all right. Had Kreacher been sampling the firewhiskey? "Exactly who is here?"

"Kreacher does not know her name but Kreacher senses the bond! She is the one who came before and she is the mistress! There will be a Lady Black again!"

Bond? What the bloody hell? Then the galleon dropped as a possibility occurred to him. Sami? Was he talking about Sami? He knew Roxy as Lady Greengrass so the only other 'she' was Sami. But they couldn't possibly….

He wouldn't accomplish anything sitting here with his mouth hanging open. He got up and Kreacher popped away without another word but an excited look upon his face. Sirius walked down the stairs as if in a daze and when he arrived on the ground floor, he heard voices coming from the kitchen. One was obviously the croaking voice of his house elf and the other sounded very much like Sami. He numbly descended the last few steps to the kitchen and when he opened the door, he saw her sitting at the table with biscuits near her and Kreacher was happily preparing tea. Then Sami looked up and their eyes met.

He felt like he couldn't breathe. Her expression was a little hesitant and uncertain but her gaze was still forthright and unwavering. He momentarily wondered how she'd gotten in but then he'd recalled that he had not been considering any limits on her access when he'd led her in the first time. She was already allowed in automatically just as the Greengrasses were. A bond. Merlin's balls, Kreacher had said that he felt her as Lady Black, what had he done?


	14. To Be Loved By You

Chapter 14 To Be Loved By You

A/N: Special thanks to my marvellous beta, Shygui. Thanks for reading, reviewing and especially for being patient. Happy Holidays!

Love isn't love until you give it away. ― John H. MacDonald Jr.

Sami had welcomed the distraction of helping in the trauma ward after a magical accident that morning. Some fool that thought he knew how to do expansion runes had made a mistake and the entire building had come crashing down and injured several people. Fortunately, they'd not lost anyone and had been able to patch everyone up good as new. However, their patients weren't going to forgive that man who'd made the mistake anytime soon.

Unfortunately, after that it was a slow day and there was nothing for her to do for the rest of the afternoon so she had brooded about Sirius in her office before deciding to leave promptly at end of shift, change and then go to Sirius' house. She was tired of waiting and decided she deserved to know where they stood even if Sirius would rather ignore the entire issue.

Her resolve faltered as soon as she appeared in the park across the street but steeling her resolve she quickly applied a notice-me-not charm to herself as she saw there were some Muggles about although they weren't near and didn't seem to be looking at her, yet. When she looked across the street, she was surprised at how clearly she saw the Black house and that renewed her determination to know where she stood so she crossed the street and approached the wards.

She wasn't going to just try to walk right in, she remembered Sirius' warning about the wards but as she as slowed her approach, she felt a sort of acceptance that she couldn't define but found reassuring. Cautiously she entered the wards and nothing happened. She found herself smiling at the results and was pleased to see how much better the house looked, Sirius was not just hiding out, he was still working hard towards his goals.

Finally, she was standing at the door but she wasn't sure if she should walk in or even if she could. However, knocking might not get her anything as the inside of the house was much larger than the outside. She took a deep breath and then tried the knob and was a little surprised to find the door opening for her. She stepped in, closed the door and was about to call out a hello when she was startled by Sirius' elf popping into existence in front of her.

Her hand went to her chest and she barely stifled an exclamation of surprise as the elf peered at her, looking surprised. She found that odd as he'd seen her before although now that she thought of it, she didn't think that they had been introduced. She was about to try to rectify that oversight when the croaking voice of the house elf interrupted her attempt.

"Mistress? There is a new mistress? Kreacher is so happy!"

Mistress? What did he mean? In the Muggle world, that had a rather unsavoury connotation but this was an elf accustomed to pureblood etiquette and she wasn't sure what that would mean to the elf, or Sirius for that matter. Before she could respond the elf was talking and bowing to her.

"Mistress is of course welcome to go wherever Mistress wishes. Does Mistress wish to see the Lord Black? Does Mistress want any refreshments?"

She wasn't quite sure what to make of how solicitous the elf was to her now especially how he'd basically ignored her existence when they'd first met. Obviously, to him mistress had a very positive connotation so she'd certainly take advantage of this opportunity to get a chance to talk to Sirius sooner rather than later.

"Some tea would be nice and I would like to speak to Sirius if he's here."

"Follow Kreacher, Mistress. Kreacher will make tea and tell Lord Black that Mistress is here."

She followed the eager elf and wondered at the transformation of his attitude. Even after his manner had improved after the bonding, he had not been this eager or upbeat. Obviously, to an elf service was a good thing and he was happy to be bound. That made her assumption that it was a form of slavery seem rather ill-advised now.

He put a pot of water on the stove, levitated some biscuits to the table and bade her to sit before popping away. She slowly made her way to the chair that would allow her to face the door and sat down, still feeling a little dazed by the unexpected welcome. She could only hope that Sirius was half as glad to see her. Her nerves started to get to her as she waited in silence so the pop of the elf's return was welcome although once again slightly startling.

He kept up some cheerful chatter with her as he started preparing the tea and she was happy to go along with it. Then time seemed to come to an abrupt halt as Sirius stepped into the room and her eyes found his. He looked good although she could see surprise written all over his face. She began to regret stopping in unannounced but it wasn't irritation that came to his face it looked more like regret or worry. Before she could ask what was wrong, he spoke up.

"Are you alright?"

He was concerned about her? That was nice and reassuring but why would he be concerned? He had not contacted her but… could Roxanne have said something to him? Still, if he was concerned why hadn't he contacted her?

"I'm fine. How are you?" That hadn't come out right but she suppressed the grimace at her inability to come up with the right words. He looked a little reassured but still somewhat flustered, what was she missing?

"Good. That's good." His eyes swept the room then fixated on the elf as he began to serve her some tea before he finally looked back at her. "I should have contacted you I just…." He grimaced, shook his head and muttered something she didn't catch before looking at her again and continuing as he looked at her earnestly. "I apologize for how I have treated you. I didn't comprehend our true situation, we need to talk."

Now she was a little concerned. She wasn't sure what he meant by 'true situation' but she totally agreed that they needed to talk so she nodded, smiled and gestured across the table where Kreacher was now setting up some tea for Sirius on the table nearest where he was standing. He looked a little distracted but nodded his assent anyway and sat down when the elf was done.

Sirius still looked a bit lost so she decided to break the ice and satisfy her curiosity at the same time. "So, what is our 'true situation'?"

He gave her a look like he'd been hit with a Confundus then he seemed to shake it off and answered her. "We have at least the start of a marriage bond between us. I was so in denial that I never seriously considered it even though a couple of other people have brought it up with me. I'm still adjusting to the fact that I was wrong, that I have messed things up so badly."

What? A bond…? "How do you know that we have one?" She sounded querulous and uncertain to her own ears but embarrassingly, it was the truth of the situation she found herself in.

Sirius looked momentarily puzzled but then hurried to answer her. "I heard Kreacher calling you 'mistress'. That means something to house elves. You see, once they bond to you they are very sensitive to your magic, they will know things even before you do some of the time. Like, well, now for instance. He knew we had a bond before the idea was even a realistic possibility to me. I still feel rather caught off guard by it, truthfully."

Then his eyes got big and he hurried on, "I don't mean to sound reluctant, that's not it at all. If I had a bond with anyone, I'd like it to ... um, err… to be you."

He looked adorably sheepish to her and her hand was over his before she even thought about it. Since he was being so open with her, she could do no less that reciprocate. "I feel the same way, Sirius. I was so focussed on maintaining a professional relationship with you as my patient that I completely missed what was happening. It took Roxanne asking me to lunch and us having a long talk before I could consider it myself. I understand how you feel completely."

Sirius began to chuckle and shake his head ruefully. "Aren't we the pair? Since we're being so honest here, I was afraid of your reaction to me. You see I have to become Lord Black, I have to assume a leading role in the same society that sent you to the basement and ignored you for your ideas and ethics. I didn't really think that someone as brilliant as you would be interested in someone who has blundered his way through life and was born into whatever prominence that he might ever have."

His admission took her breath away, she had to do something about that and right this very moment. She started out by giving him a stern look but softening it my squeezing his hand that was still under hers. "First of all, Sirius, I would never in a million years consider you in any way to blame for whatever has happened to me. You had nothing to do with what that fool of a chief of staff did and you have even offered to set me up in a business of my own. So I do not hold you, Lord Black, in any way responsible for anything that has happened to me." She narrowed her eyes at him further, "Are we clear?"

He nodded quickly and looked just a touch intimidated so she smiled and saw his anxiety drain away. "Now, as for you blundering your way through life, I know you see it that way but what I first saw is you doing your best to cope with a big loss and your dedication to your friend James. Now I see you fighting to overcome years of abuse, becoming a godfather, a lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House and most importantly, a fine, caring man. I see nothing to dislike. I also think we should be seeing more of each other."

She had meant the last sentence as encouragement but it wasn't until the words had left her mouth that she realized how salaciously they could be interpreted. She internally cringed, thinking about how Sirius would respond to what she had said but his smile was affectionate rather than teasing as he began to speak again.

"What I have seen is a beautiful, caring witch who always makes the best of her situation, and is a damn fine healer to boot. I see someone who has worked hard for everything she has and I'm proud that such a witch thinks I'm worth being involved with. So yes, we should be seeing more of each other. How about every day?"

His big, toothy grin and laughing, grey eyes just sort of drew her in. She hoped he wasn't suggesting that she move in, she wasn't quite in that much of a hurry. However, seeing him every day was pretty much what she had come there for so she gave him what she hoped was a beatific smile before she said, "That sounds good to me."

* * *

Remus Lupin had nothing further to do that day after dinner so as soon as he was done eating, he took his cloak with him and left the castle altogether and headed to the gates outside. As he approached the gate, he could feel the dementors and his mood plunged. Once he passed through, he ignored the dementors and the bored guard as he focused on his destination and quickly Apparated away to where he needed to be.

He found himself in a Muggle park that matched the image that Sirius had shown him and was glad to find that he was the only person about and after a quick notice-me-not charm, he headed across the street to where he saw a distorted, wavering image of an old house. It was hard to keep his eyes on it so he didn't bother to try although he was careful to stop when he reached the sidewalk, it wouldn't do to wander into some Black family wards, he had a good idea of how that would go for him.

He caught a whiff of his friend before he appeared before him, smiling widely with obvious welcome. "Moony! Good to see you again."

Sirius quickly reached out and took his hands to drag him through the wards. Remus felt the brush of the wards and he even felt a tingle of the power involved in the wards that he had just passed through.

"There you go, Moony. Next time you can just walk in. Welcome to my new home, at least for now. How are you?"

Remus smiled back and said, "I'm fine Pads. The last full moon was one of the best in years so I'm better than usual."

Sirius chuckled and responded, "It was like old times, wasn't it? Did we manage to renew the reputation of the Shrieking Shack?"

"No, nobody noticed as the Wolfsbane Potion worked great and things were a lot quieter."

Sirius grimaced and muttered, "How could you have just drunk that? Snivellus could have poisoned you!"

Remus suppressed a huff. "As I told you before, he is a dedicated potions master and would never poison anyone or ruin a potion. He may be a pain in the arse with his attitude but the man is a true professional when it comes to potions."

He ignored Sirius' sceptical grunt as they reached the front door and passed through. He paused as he caught a new scent and sniffed again, a strange woman either had been recently here or was still here. He realized he'd been obvious when he heard Sirius chuckle.

"That would be who you're here to meet."

He was very glad he was still wearing his new Hogwarts robes, he hadn't expected to meet anyone. He gave him a reproachful look as he said, "You forgot to mention that part."

Sirius gave him a smirk as he lightly said, "Did I?"

Remus moved his look up to a glare.

"Oh, don't be such a ponce. She'll like you and you'll like her, it isn't a big deal."

It was Remus' turn to give a sceptical grunt but he faltered in his turn to continue walking when he heard what Sirius had to say next.

"So how is it going with you and my cousin?"

Remus immediately turned back to his friend with the beginnings of a new frown. "That was just Dumbledore's teasing. There is nothing between me and your cousin! Don't make me regret telling you."

"The lady doth protest too much, I think," Sirius wise cracked before he continued. "Oh relax, Moony. You were never this touchy before."

Remus began to feel bad about his mood, he'd let the dementors get to him too much. "And you should have more care about associating members of your family with someone who could damage their reputation."

Sirius huffed and responded, "Still on that? Remus, there's nothing wrong with you. You shouldn't care about what the bigots think."

"It's hard to ignore when the harpy who has been making my life miserable with her laws is in charge of the dementors that are threatening my students!"

Sirius sighed and raised his hands in placating gesture. "I'm sorry, you have a point about that. When I take my place in the Wizengamot I'll do what I can to reverse what she's done. In fact, I'd like to see to it that she is out of the Ministry altogether!"

Remus took a deep breath to calm himself, he really needed to calm down and stop being so sensitive, especially since he was probably about to meet Sirius' new paramour. "Sorry, Pads. I shouldn't take things out on you."

Sirius looked contrite as he responded, "And I shouldn't provoke you. I'm sorry too."

Remus heard a rustle and was already turning when he also heard a woman's voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I was anxious to meet Sirius' best friend. It's good to meet you, Mr. Lupin, I'm Sami Stevens but please just call me Sami."

She was an attractive woman of about their age with dark blond hair and a big, friendly smile. He quickly reached out to shake her offered hand and stifled his bow as she seemed to follow Muggle social conventions. He also had to stifle some embarrassment as he realized that she'd been where she could have overheard him and he may have made a bad first impression.

He tried to give her an equally friendly smile as he responded, "Please call me Remus or Moony if you prefer. I'll answer to either one."

She gave him an approving look as she said, "Thank you, Remus. I would also like to point out that I would never discriminate against someone suffering from a condition beyond their control. As a healer, I find such behaviour reprehensible."

Remus had to fight a blush but tried to show his gratitude in his manner towards her. "I'm sure you'll be a good influence on Padfoot here. As everyone knows, he needs all of the good influences that he can get."

Sirius gave him an indignant look. "Hey!" Sirius then eyed the two of them grinning at him and he huffed and continued, "Great, now you two are ganging up on me!" That just made the other two laugh.

* * *

Harry pondered the fact that the next day was Halloween as he hurried back to the castle after Quidditch practice. It still held the usual bad memories for him, the day being an anniversary of the day he'd become an orphan. However, this particular Halloween would be his first chance to visit Hogsmeade and although he was anxious to have a look at the town, it could have been even more fun to be with his girlfriend too. Lately this whole house rivalry thing seemed like even more bollocks than usual; it was just another way for fate to stick it to him.

On the other hand, he was hurrying because he was about to get the chance to spend some time with her. Unfortunately, his performance in Astronomy had slipped and since Daphne was very proficient at it, their meeting held a dual purpose this time. He gathered up his Astronomy work, waved to his friends and donned his cloak as soon as the coast was clear as he hurried towards their room.

When he opened the door, he realized that he'd arrived before her so he removed his cloak and set up his homework at his usual desk. Then he decided to work on his star chart as he didn't want to seem lazy. Thus, he was somewhat taken by surprise to hear the door shut and Daphne say, "I guess I can't accuse you of slacking off, Harry. There you are, hard at work."

He grinned at her as he replied, "Someone told me I should work hard to become the best I can be. I'm just following orders."

She chuckled as she cast the usual spells at the door. She then gave her boyfriend a noisy kiss to the cheek before she sat down and Harry grinned in appreciation. He felt himself blush as she teased, "If you do well, I'll aim the next kiss at your lips."

He decided to try to match her quip for quip as well as he could so with what he hoped was a flirty grin said, "Now that's motivation."

Her tinkling laugh made him blush harder but it was so worth it. She seemed to decide it was time to focus on their task as she peered at his chart and asked, "So what are you working on right now?"

It took him a second to switch gears and he had to look down to get himself oriented. "Oh, I was adding Orion."

She sounded a little disappointed as she was looking at where his quill was poised, "There?"

He frowned down at the paper and ran through what he could remember about Orion and then suddenly his blush was back. "That was my first inclination." He then sighed and added, "I was putting it in the wrong place, wasn't I?"

He was glaring at the parchment as if it was at fault for his error and wondering if he could salvage his work when he heard a very soft "Evanesco" as Daphne pointed her wand at his mistake. He had expected the parchment to disappear but to his surprise, it was suddenly clear of his mistake. He stared at it until he heard her say, "I just vanished the ink."

He turned his surprised look to her and it was her turn to look surprised. "I vanished the ink for the mistake, haven't you ever done that before?"

Now he was blushing as he admitted sheepishly, 'I… well, that is… I never thought of it."

She gave him an affectionate grin and declared, "See, I've already taught you something. Let's get this done."

She didn't do his work for him but she asked the right questions and when it was complete, he thought it was probably his best chart ever. He was very glad that he earned his incentive but he was sure that his girlfriend had enjoyed it as much as he did. That didn't bother him in the least though and he decided he could get by on the memory of this when he had to be without her the next day.

* * *

Hermione could see how anxious Ron was to go to Hogsmeade for the first time but was impressed by his restraint, he didn't even gulp down his breakfast, well, at least not any more than usual. Harry's attitude was a little puzzling though; he was a little excited but he almost seemed distracted or perhaps even sad. She wasn't sure what he was feeling but she'd learned her lesson about prodding him too much, she'd wait to see if she needed to cheer him up. Besides it may just be him missing the opportunity to explore the town with his girlfriend, she could certainly understand that if that is what was affecting him.

The trip didn't start well with Filch glaring at her as if she'd hexed him, sacrificed his firstborn or done something equally heinous but he finally let her proceed to the carriages. She still had to wait as he took the time to glare at Ron and Harry as well. What was that man's problem anyway? Once they got to the carriages, the mood improved markedly.

Although she would have preferred to head to Scrivenshaft's first to stock up on parchment and ink, she easily gave in as both boys wanted to go to Honeydukes first. As the boys stocked up on some sweets, she just looked around and decided to indulge herself by taking a free sample of their new fudge. In fact she saw Harry considering the fudge but he didn't add it to his purchases.

Harry checked out first and came to her offering a sugar quill. She rolled her eyes at him but accepted it anyway, he knew very well that it was her secret weakness, sugar be damned. At least it was only one, she suspected she'd get more than that from Ron as a Christmas gift. Speaking of Ron, she'd seen him with a fair amount of pocket money but he didn't go crazy buying sweets, she was rather proud of him for that.

While she was waiting she leaned over and whispered, "Were you thinking of the fudge for Daphne?"

He silently shook his head and then leaned over to whisper in her ear, "No. I was thinking of it for Ron, did you see how he gobbled down the sample? I'll buy some closer to Yule."

She felt his breath on her skin and somehow it gave her a chill down her spine and she felt goosebumps form. What was going on? She'd never reacted like this before! Was she getting hormonal? And with Harry of all things? He was like a brother to her, oh this was so wrong!

Once she recovered some aplomb from that initial reaction, she contemplated the fact that he'd said Yule, not Christmas. She felt a frisson of disappointment as he was clearly starting to view things more like a pureblood than someone Muggle raised. However, she wouldn't be concerned about that as his attitude towards her hadn't changed and no sign of blood prejudice was evident. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen any from Daphne either and her friend was a half-blood too. She decided that a switch in holidays didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Their next stop was Scrivenshaft's so she made her purchases and noticed that Harry got a few things, including another self-inking quill, which she had started using too, they finally had something nearly as good a Muggle biro in her view. Although Ron had looked around, he only got one roll of parchment, nothing else. Neville bought a couple of things, somewhere in between Harry and Ron.

Next came Dervish and Banges and she had to admit that she found some of their items interesting, although not as much as Harry who lingered over the defence section, especially the foe glass and sneak-o-scopes. They then stopped at Zonko's Joke Shop and she'd thought she'd never get the boys out of there. However, it seemed like Ron was more interested in trying the items while Harry seemed more intent on joking about how they could be used. Neville seemed more amused by their reactions, like her.

When she finally got them out of there, it was time for lunch and a special treat: heated butterbeer, which was pretty much the highlight of the day for them. They had a bit of shock when they left the Three Broomsticks and saw what looked like an ogre going into the Hog's Head Pub. It was after they'd recovered from that that she noticed Harry trying to subtly look around again.

They'd seen Daphne and Tracey earlier and Harry had pretended to ignore them but now he seemed different. At this point he appeared to be worried but she didn't know why he'd be worried but before she could bring it up, he seemed to brighten as if deciding or realizing something so she let it go.

The only other thing was their stop at the Hogsmeade Post Office, she'd never seen so many owls in her life! Ron tended to make fun of some of them while Harry seemed sure that none of them could compare to his Hedwig. She just shook her head and let them have their fun. She was surprised when Harry led them to Gladrags. Although she enjoyed looking around, Ron and Neville looked bored and Harry seemed frustrated. She began to wonder if he needed advice on what to get Daphne again but decided to wait until he asked, at least for now.

* * *

Harry was ambivalent about his first visit to Hogsmeade. He'd enjoyed the quiet day with his friends and the stores had been interesting for the most part. However, seeing Daphne and having to ignore her had taken some of the fun out of the day for him. Also, he'd started to wonder when Malfoy would show up with his goons and try to spoil things when he remembered that he and his bookends were in detention. That thought brought back some of his good humour from earlier.

That didn't last however as his frustration grew at finding nothing special enough for his gifts for Daphne. Yule and her birthday came in quick succession and ever since the moment she'd become his girlfriend he had been spending spare moments trying to come up with gift ideas. Sure, he'd seen some nice things but nothing special. He wanted it to be something unique and personalized. Not just some nice jumper or bracelet. It had to be SPECIAL, it had to show how he felt about her and he had exactly NOTHING!

They were so late getting back that they decided to head straight to dinner in the great hall and put away their purchases later. He was heartened to see Daphne in her usual place and although she was stoic as usual, she seemed completely normal. He was amused to see that Malfoy and his goons were sullen and looked tired, he hoped whoever had managed their detention that day had worked them hard.

He was feeling very full but still disgruntled as they approached Gryffindor tower but he was puzzled to see a gathering of some of their fellow Gryffindors around the door, grumbling about something. When they got to the entrance, they saw the fat lady laying there snoring in her frame. He then heard Seamus' angry voice, "She won't wake up! We can't get in!"

Harry sighed in frustration, he'd totally failed in his quest for gifts and now this. He felt his growing anger might be slightly out of proportion to the provocation but his current mood would not let him wait patiently. He rapped his knuckles on the canvas and loudly said, "Hey! Wake up!"

All the fat lady did is snort in her sleep and then return to snoring.

Seamus grumbled, "I already tried that. I even hit it harder than that."

Harry decided it was time to try something drastic so he loudly proclaimed, "I say we just blast right through the frame and tell McGonagall that we need a new portrait for the entrance!"

This time she snorted, shook herself and blearily asked "Wha?"

Harry said, "Fortuna Major."

She blinked at him in confusion and seemed drunk. "What?"

"That's the password. Open up."

She blearily scowled at him and sat up. "Not until you apologize."

Harry was in no mood for this. "For what? Asking you to do your job? Open up!"

She tried to look defiant and said, "No."

It was time for Harry to glare at her as he pulled out his wand. He then speculatively said, "I wonder how many spells it would take to blow a hole through to the common room."

Hermione's eyes grew big but she didn't say anything while the fat lady's eyes got huge and she started to stutter. 'Y-you w-wouldn't…." She drifted to a stop as Harry glared at her and then she scowled and exclaimed, "Fine!"

The door opened much more quickly than usual and only Harry's reflexes kept him from being hit in the face. He scowled momentarily then braced himself and held the door open and motioned for the others to enter before him. Most of the others hurried through but Neville gave him a curious look, Hermione paused to scowl at him and Ron held back. When Ron got close to him he asked, "Why are you still holding the door?"

Harry huffed and said, "Because I don't trust her." That statement drew an indignant noise from the painting but she didn't speak.

Ron smirked before being the last one to enter before him and Harry carefully followed, keeping his grip on the door until he was clear of the doorway. He was glad he'd taken that precaution as the door suddenly slammed with a loud crack. He scowled at the door as he thought how much that would have hurt if he'd been less careful.

He didn't get much time to calm down as he saw Hermione waiting impatiently with a scowl. As she opened her mouth he held up a hand, pointed to their corner and when all four of them were there, he cast a privacy spell and then looked at Hermione with his arms folded defensively.

"Harry! That was uncalled for! You could get in trouble for that!"

Harry saw that was just the beginning of one of her rants so he interrupted. "Nothing was damaged, I did not nothing wrong. Something was malfunctioning and I fixed it!"

Her scowl deepened as she retaliated, "You were rude and threatened damage to a sentient being!"

Harry huffed and exclaimed, "A painting!? Am I supposed to worry about the feelings of a painting that isn't a real being?"

Harry's heart twisted as Hermione drew back as if she'd been slapped. She looked deeply offended as she said, "I see that I can't reason with you now. Good night."

She gave friendlier nods to the two other boys and stalked away to the stairs for the girls' dorms. Neville looked stupefied and Ron looked torn and contemplative. Harry felt embarrassed as he'd allowed his anger to be taken out on someone completely not responsible for creating his problem. He not only still had his original problem but now he had created another. Bloody fantastic.

When he felt the tension was becoming unbearable he said, "I guess I owe her an apology in the morning. I think I've done enough for one day, I reckon I'll go to bed early."

He got subdued good nights from both boys as he left to slowly go up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Harry felt very disappointed with himself, he'd really bollocksed this up but at least he hadn't gotten shirty with his girlfriend, which would have been the worst case possible. Still, he had disappointed one of his most loyal and oldest friends and that stung.

He put his purchases in his trunk, got ready for bed and paused by his trunk again, thinking. He felt like he needed advice but the only adult he could contact quickly and directly was Sirius so he didn't really have much of a choice. He unlocked the trunk and took the mirror with him before sealing his bed curtains and putting up a privacy spell.

He was trying to think of how he would explain his problem and recent behaviour as he stared at the mirror when he suddenly was hit with an epiphany. He knew what to get Daphne and it was perfect! It was very personal and he was quite certain that she'd love it! He still needed some help to get the gift but he finally had his answer! He felt so relieved and happy that he promised himself he'd even apologize to the fat lady in the morning.

* * *

Ron Weasley was content as he lingered over Saturday's lunch. It may have taken Hermione an extra day after Harry's apology to start treating him normally but all had been right between them for days now. Looking back, Ron knew he'd been responsible for some of the drama between the friends in the past but that didn't mean that he liked the drama, in fact he wasn't a fan of it at all.

Some thunder drew his eyes to the windows again and he was very glad just as a potential spectator that today's Slytherin/Gryffindor match had been postponed a day due to the detentions of their seeker. He was even gladder for the sake of his friend and brothers that they didn't have to try to fly in this horrible weather. The teams wouldn't be able to see the whole field and the seekers would be lucky to find the snitch at all in weather like this.

Ron looked up at the head table again and saw Professor Lupin still looking a little under the weather and Ron was still angry about Snape taking advantage of the full moon to try to get the DADA classes to realize what Lupin's affliction was. Git. Harry had looked like he wanted to hex Snape and although Snape had glared back, there had been no points taken. At least that particular issue with Snape had not occurred this year.

Thunder drew his gaze outside again and he shuddered as the wind seemed to be getting even worse. He looked at his friends and saw that both Neville and Harry looked distracted but in a good way. He suspected that two Slytherin girls were responsible for that. He was still shocked that shy Neville sort of had an unofficial girlfriend already. He hadn't really thought about girls that much yet but his two male friends were already taking the plunge and he wondered whether he should try it.

He looked at Hermione, who was reading a book (such a shock!). He grinned at her, she looked cute when she concentrated. He shook that thought off and wondered if he actually was more ready than he thought. However, when he thought about Hermione as a potential girlfriend, he really didn't see it as workable. Sure, he was pulling his weight more academically but he was no Hermione, he still sometimes wondered how she had avoided being sorted into Ravenclaw. They also tended to get into loud arguments, he was sort of glad that Scabbers had run off, things could have been difficult with Hermione's ugly cat skulking around and him with a rodent that would look like a juicy meal.

He regarded Lavender and Parvati further down the table and although they both were pretty, he'd heard enough of their gossip to make him shudder. His eyes wandered to the other tables but none of the Ravenclaws struck his fancy. There were a couple of Puffs who were good looking, especially Susan Bones. He didn't consider the girls in Slytherin, the only good ones in his year were taken, none of the others appealed to him in any way nor would they have the faintest interest in him. He blushed as his attention returned to his own table and he noticed Hermione regarding him curiously, he decided he'd best wait a year before he ventured into the mysterious world of girls.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure what to expect from this match. First, the weather had started out nice in the morning but clouds and some wind came back in the afternoon although it wasn't as bad as yesterday - yet. As for the opposing seeker, he wasn't sure about him either as he was much quieter than usual, it was almost unsettling. It was still the Slytherin team though so he expected a rough match.

One thing that was new was having a girlfriend in the stands. She'd said that although she'd be in the Slytherin section, she'd secretly cheer for him and every time he thought about that he felt a goofy grin form on his face. He couldn't let that distract him though as winning the cup was too important to Wood, nor could he look for her in the stands. She'd said they could meet that evening and he was quite looking forward to that so a short match with a Gryffindor win was definitely in order.

Wood was giving them another of his impassioned speeches and Harry did his best to appear to be giving him his full attention although he was really considering various situations he might find himself in mixed with thoughts about his girlfriend. Finally it was time to go out on the pitch and he noticed the wind would probably be a factor and it was quite cloudy. There'd be less light to see the snitch by but the sun would never bother his eyes, he'd just have to make the best of the situation he found himself in.

Harry did his best to focus on the snitch when it was released but as usual, even with his new glasses the snitch managed to disappear so he went up and started circling the pitch. He broke his search for the snitch momentarily when he realized he had no idea where Malfoy was and found him trailing him. He certainly didn't look like his head was in the game, he looked sullen and was simply trailing him, not making much of an effort to find the snitch on his own.

Harry internally shook his head as he concluded that Malfoy's spectacular failure at whatever he was supposed to be doing regarding the Greengrasses had completely demoralized him. He wasn't going to complain though, this should make a quick victory even easier. Now, all he had to do is to find that elusive snitch.

He'd had two false sightings before he finally spotted it. His world was reduced to that glittering little ball with wings and he studied its flight as he kept going as fast as he could and anticipating its moves as well as he could. He was dimly aware that it was feeling colder and that there were wisps of fog here and there but it was so far in the back of his mind he thought nothing of it.

He'd been nearing it when it suddenly slipped to his left and he switched hands on his broom to free his left hand for the grab. He made a reaching grab and was elated when he felt the snitch struggling in his gloved hand. He'd done it! As he raised his hand in triumph, he thought that they were done and he could….

That's when he became aware of his surroundings again, including a warmth on his chest around the amulet and all was very much not well. Everywhere he looked, he saw dementors! He'd been so focussed on his task that he was surrounded! He locked his legs around his broom and freed his right hand and was about to eject his wand when a dementor in front of him made a grab for his robes and hung on, bringing its loathsome, skeletal face closer to his!

Time seemed to slow as his mind skittered around trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. He didn't have time to focus on a spell like Expecto Patronum, he was about to be kissed! Part of his mind screamed for help as he desperately searched for an alternative. A quick glance around showed he was indeed surrounded, there was nowhere for him to go!

Abruptly, he felt a weight in his right hand and desperately swiped it at the dementor trying to kiss him. He didn't even get a chance to see what it was that he was holding when there was a sudden, point-blank screech from the dementor that might have deafened him had it gone on for any length of time but it was fortunately short as the dementor's grip loosened and it began to fall way.

That's when he noticed the others scattering and doing some screeching of their own and he saw a Patronus arriving and closely circling him to protect him. In fact, it was so close that he couldn't identify what it was but then the dementors were scattering quickly and he noticed three other Patronuses circling farther from him and two of them appeared to be foxes (were Cyrus and Roxanne here?) while another appeared to be a phoenix.

As he realized that he was now safe, a trembling started to happen throughout his body and he looked dumbly at his right hand that held – the sword of Gryffindor. Bloody hell, it had come back when he needed it and he remembered Dumbledore's words to that effect. Somehow, it seemed to be linked to him once again. He was beginning to shake his head in wonder when fatigue began to settle in as his adrenaline faded away and despite its moderate weight, the sword began to feel heavy. He started wishing it would return to where it waited before he'd drop it and suddenly, it was gone.

He looked around again to find that he couldn't see any dementors at all and only the close Patronus remained but it was now still and looking at him and he was amazed to see a doe, his mother's Patronus. He was still staring in wonder when it moved towards him and touched his cheek with its nose. It felt strangely like a kiss and he had this feeling of being enclosed in Daphne's hug, feeling safe and happy.

That's when the galleon dropped, his mind had been stuck on the fact that his mother's Patronus was a doe but this was sent by someone still in the realm of the living. Daphne had cast her first Patronus!

He desperately wanted to look for her and go to her but he didn't dare, he couldn't endanger her like that. The Patronus faded away and he almost felt bereft but somehow, the feeling of safety and affection didn't leave with the Patronus. That's when he looked down and saw that all of the rest of the players were already on the ground and that his team was desperately beckoning for him to join them. He blushed as he realized that he'd been lost in thought up here while everyone was watching! He began to descend but didn't attempt a fast dive, he was still feeling a bit shaky and didn't want to take any unnecessary chances.

* * *

Daphne and Tracey only went to Quidditch matches when the weather was good since they weren't really big fans of the sport. However, Daphne was definitely a fan of her boyfriend so any game with Gryffindor involved was a must-see now as far as she was concerned. However, their aloofness from the rest of their house was still evident as they sat apart and mostly behind the bulk of their house. Since she might get excited and say something her house mates might find treasonous, she cast a privacy charm around them, just in case.

She was proud of her boyfriend as he made flying on his broom look so easy, it made her wish she'd thought of going for a ride with him on his broom last summer; unfortunately now it was something they couldn't risk. She was so engrossed in watching him she didn't realize anything was amiss until Tracey gasped and poked her and pointed behind Harry as he seemed to be after the snitch.

The first thing she saw was Malfoy abandoning the chase immediately and making for the ground as fast as he could. Then she saw the dementors and realized that he was actually being prudent for once. The other thing she noticed was that Harry seemed oblivious to his danger.

She nearly shouted at him but quickly realized it would be fruitless as he was not only too far away for a single shout to be audible, she had cast a spell to prevent her from giving herself away that way. Her mind was panicking, her heart was trying to jump out of her chest and her body was starting to shake; she couldn't bear the possibility of that damned boggart being correct, Harry cannot die!

A Patronus, she needed a Patronus, oh Circe be damned why did have to something which she had yet to succeed at? However, she remembered everything he'd told her of his successful cast. She thought of how much she loved her family, her feelings for Harry and kept his image in front of her mind as she thought furiously before focusing on a single thought, _Protect him!_

They were surrounding him and he was starting to raise his arm after his catch when she felt the surge and flow of her magic and then she incanted at the top of her lungs, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" She was surprised when she felt a heat and flow that was unprecedented in any spell she'd cast before. However, she stayed focussed on her spell and was certain that she had never cast a spell with so much power in it in her entire life. She watched her Patronus form and suddenly soar away quickly towards Harry.

With a corner of her mind she noticed that it was in the form of a doe but didn't let herself ponder that fact as she saw it reach Harry but just before it arrived, there was a glint in the air off to his right and it looked like Harry might have somehow chopped the closest one in half. Bloody hell, her boyfriend was powerful! She'd never heard of anyone being able to kill a dementor and now he had two to his credit!

Her Patronus had gone into a close orbit around Harry and the dementors were already scattering when she saw two foxes join the fight from a different angle and then a moment later some sort of bird joined as well. The foxes startled her as those were the forms of her parents' Patronuses, could they possibly be here? Had they come without telling her?

She heard Tracey mutter, "Merlin! Now you've done it too and all I can do is a little mist!"

She smiled at her friend's observation but kept her eyes on Harry, making sure he was safe. She felt a little tired after her spell but she was so elated that she wasn't going to give it a moment's consideration. Her boyfriend may be out of immediate danger but she was going to keep an eye on him until he was safe on the ground.

* * *

Roxanne Greengrass was waiting impatiently in a line with her husband to enter the Hogwarts grounds. They had never attended a Quidditch game as parents before and they were surprised at all of the other parents waiting in line before them. She gathered from some comments that the line was unusual and there were some scattered complaints of increased security. Actually, increased security sounded good to her since some children important to her were here but they'd have to come earlier if they did this again, she was very concerned that they'd be late for the game.

She had gritted her teeth and clutched her wand in her hand when they approached the gates where a pair of dementors were posted. They seemed restless to her and although there were two people there focussing on the dementors, they seemed unable to control the restlessness. It was a great relief to pass the gate, be checked with dark detectors and then finally be admitted by Filch and Hagrid, the latter as usual gave her a friendly nod.

Unfortunately, she'd been correct as the game started before they could find seats in the stands. They'd been directed to a section for parents and faculty and although she was able to distinguish the sections for the houses in Hogwarts, she'd had no luck finding her daughters or Neville. She had seen Harry briefly as he soared up at the start of the game.

Her husband had found someone to talk to so she was looking towards the Slytherin section hoping to find one of her daughters. She had come more to see the children than the game and although her husband's motive was similar, he wasn't going to waste an opportunity to network with someone for either business or for politics. He was heavily into both so it was hard for her to tell which it was at any particular moment in time.

She wasn't expecting any trouble so she was surprised when she heard gasps and quiet exclamations from the surrounding parents. She looked back and saw her husband and others looking up so she did as well. Circe! There were dementors after Harry! She had her wand in her hand immediately but couldn't snap off the spell like so many others in her repertoire, a Patronus required some mental preparation. She was gratified when she saw her husband cast his Patronus simultaneously with her. She was disappointed to see some parents panicking and a pitiful few attempting to do something, which was usually just mist if they accomplished anything other than making noise.

She had a very different reaction when she saw a doe Patronus soaring up before hers from the student section. Any Hogwarts staff member would have cast near her and she did see a phoenix Patronus rising from nearby. Knowing that Harry's Patronus was a stag, she didn't need more than one guess to know who had cast it, at that moment she was very proud of her oldest.

The entire Quidditch pitch and stands quickly turned into a disorganized, panicky mess and the parent section was no exception. Most seemed intent on leaving as quickly as possible, she even noticed a few fools attempting to Apparate and, of course, failing. _Idiots_. A few were going across the stands searching for their children and after a quick exchanged look with her husband, they headed over with them.

She was fruitlessly scanning for familiar faces in the stands interspersed with glances down to the pitch to keep an eye on Harry, who was now on the shoulders of what appeared to be red-headed twins. Then she remembered the pranksters that Daphne had mentioned and realized they must be the infamous Weasley twins. Given the friendly nature of their interactions with Harry, she knew that he was in good hands; well, as long as they weren't pranking him.

"Mother!"

Astoria's voice tore through her musings and then she was looking for her daughter, finally seeing her approaching as quickly as she could, trailed closely by her friend Jessica. She helped close the distance and enveloped her daughter in a hug and as soon as she could, she reached out to a shy Jessica to give her a warm greeting that made her smile. That's when she noticed that they had piqued the interest of several of the older Slytherin students who were watching them. Some studied them unabashedly and some seemed to be trying to avoid their attention.

That was the downside of being a student in her old Hogwarts house, there were a lot of dark families in the house and there was a lot of politics going on as well. Some of them would be analysing everything they could, looking for information that might be useful. Unfortunately, it behoved her and especially her husband to give them as little as possible so she looked for Daphne and saw her approaching with her friend Tracey.

When they were all together, her husband beat her to putting up a privacy spell and she noted that he'd also put up a spell to obscure outsider's view of them, you never knew who might be able to read lips. Thus, she was free to speak openly or at least as openly as she could with two present that were not of their family.

"That was an impressive Patronus, Daphne. Was that your first one?"

As Daphne started to blush slightly, Astoria exclaimed, "That was you!? Awesome!"

She was pleased by it too but there was a serious issue to discuss first. "I'm a little concerned it may have given our connection away."

That wiped the smile off Astoria's face and Daphne looked down dejectedly and quietly said, "I had put up a privacy ward and nobody would have heard me."

Tracey then came to her defence, "I looked around and nobody was staring at us. They were looking up or scattering. I don't think anyone noticed."

"Daphne, I wasn't criticizing, your father and I tried to help him too. If it comes up, we can say we were protecting a student but your motive could bring some speculation in your direction. Keep us aware of any issues and try to deflect them. I will never criticize you for protecting someone close to you."

Daphne finally looked up at her and appeared grateful so she smiled and pulled her into a quick hug, which Daphne immediately returned.

* * *

He'd seen Daphne Greengrass in the stands and arranged it so he was the closest to her of his group of followers and to the side and behind her so he could watch her unobserved. He'd gone after her on the train because she was very attractive and still pure, and a pureblood too from a major family so there were many things indicating she'd be a good catch. She had surprised him with her quick wand, she'd replaced her spells as fast as he could take them down and that made her even more desirable. However, that also made him rethink the risk/reward aspects of going after her and he had decided to only watch for now.

Since then he'd learned that she was the top student in her year, another point in her favour. He kept her in his peripheral vision and pretended to focus on the game that he really cared little about. He'd been distracted for a moment when the dementors appeared and then hid a grin, he was about to see the Gryffindor Golden Boy get kissed and he was going to enjoy it.

He saw a movement from Daphne's direction and was spellbound as he saw her cast a corporeal Patronus. Merlin's balls! She was only a third year and she could do that?! Then he saw her friend starting to look around so he focussed upwards again to see what her Patronus did.

He frowned as it appeared that somehow, Potter had managed to cut a dementor in two. Was it possible that he really had killed the dementor on the train? Then he saw her Patronus protecting him from the other dementors as they began to disperse and three other Patronuses showed up to finish things off.

He pretended to be fascinated by what was going on up in the sky as he thought furiously. She was smart, quick with a wand, beautiful, a pureblood, still untouched and now very powerful. He wanted her so badly now that he could almost taste it. Everything that made her difficult to possess made her more desirable for him to have.

There was still the risk vs. reward issue to consider though. He'd already thought that a pawn would make it easier to go after her again and he already had a good candidate for being that pawn. He regarded her in his peripheral vision again and she was staring raptly up towards the boy. He stifled a frown as he considered the fact that he might already have competition for her; could she really be sweet on the Gryffindor show-off? He didn't want used goods, he would have to make his move before anyone had a chance to get to her before him.

If she had feelings for some boy already, that wasn't really a concern, he could make her forget him; he could make her obey his every wish. His anticipation started to build but then he saw her looking around, then react in recognition and start moving in front of them. He then saw her approaching her parents as he recognised Lord Greengrass. That very attractive woman with him must be her mother, the resemblance was certainly there. However, he had no interest in the mother but the daughter had to be his.

His followers were getting restless and he didn't want to be noticed by a man like Lord Greengrass as he certainly wasn't interested in taking on a grown wizard with a reputation like his. Yes, it was time to leave but he'd have to come up with a plan and execute it before the end of this school year. She was too attractive to the rabble, she had to be HIS and HIS only for the rest of her life. Someday, he'd want powerful children, he'd let her be his wife and bear his children, he could reward her like that.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall followed Albus down to the pitch once the chaos began to abate. She wasn't surprised that there'd be some panic amongst the students but she'd been very disappointed with the behaviour of a lot of the parents. Like the headmaster, though, she was very curious to see what had landed on the field.

By keeping to a dignified pace she lost ground to the headmaster who, being significantly taller than her, made it to the remains first. She came up near him and saw two piles of rags and bones but they made her skin crawl, there was something very menacing about them even though they were inert as far as she could tell. She'd heard what Harry had done on the train indirectly and had not seen the remains herself. This, however, seemed much more immediate and real to her, she'd seen him do something to a dementor and now she saw the remains. Harry was already a very formidable wizard, much to her joy but she also felt some concern. She was also not comfortable with what Albus might be up to when he cast a speculative look at the boy.

She then turned to look towards Harry herself and saw the team celebrating their win with no concern about what may have just happened with the dementors. Even as Quidditch obsessed as she was, she was a little baffled by their attitude but then teens were not always the most aware of people and her lions might take things in stride even more than the usual.

She was disappointed that she hadn't been ready to cast her Patronus until it was no longer needed, yet another example of her letting down one of her lions. However, she'd try to make up for it now by taking care of a potential issue proactively. She hurried forward and got between the team and the castle so she'd have a chance to speak with Harry quickly.

She suppressed a smile when she saw the Weasley twins hoist Harry up on their shoulders, which caused a momentary look of concern on his face although his visage quickly settled into a big grin. They began to make their way towards the Castle, Harry still atop the twins and she set her face to be intimidating and didn't speak as they faltered to a stop when they saw her. One of the twins gulped and they carefully put Harry back down on the ground. The whole team began to look apprehensive, even Harry so she spoke up to ease their concern.

"I'm not here to stop your celebration but I do need a word with Mr. Potter."

She saw looks of relief from all but Harry. In fact, the twins looked so relieved she began to wonder if there was something going on that she should know about. However, she wasn't here to interrogate the twins so she focussed on Harry, somewhat to his consternation. The team and nearby Gryffindors slowly went around her while Harry shyly approached her.

When there was enough free space around them, she quickly put up a privacy spell and tried to give him a more encouraging look. "The headmaster is taking a clear interest in the recent event and I just wanted you to be aware that Dumbledore has agreed to my demand that I be included in any meeting he has with anyone in my house, which obviously includes you. If he asks to see you, make certain that I am aware so that I can be there."

Harry quickly nodded his agreement so she went to her second point. "Would you care to satisfy your head of house's curiosity on what happened up there?"

Harry fidgeted and blushed and she let a small smile form on her face as she considered how modest he was but then her smile disappeared as she considered how much he seemed to dislike his fame. She'd have to talk to him about being proud of one's accomplishments, which did not require becoming an aggrandizing prat like Malfoy.

He was looking down and scuffing at the dirt as he quietly said, "I was in great need of help, like in the chamber and then well, the sword came to me again and I just sort of…" He shrugged and made a swiping motion with his right hand.

"Mr. Potter." She waited until he looked up at her again, looking both hesitant and curious. "Needing help is not a weakness and you kept your head and were able to save yourself, which is a very good thing. Gryffindor and I daresay all of Hogwarts would be a poorer place if you were no longer with us. When you achieve something, you should be proud. Not arrogant like some people I could name but proud nonetheless. You accomplished something today so it's OK to be gratified by that."

With a faint blush but with a smile he nodded his agreement. She gave him a smile back before dismissing him. "Alright then, Harry. Off with you and have fun; just don't let the twins destroy the common room, OK?"

Harry chuckled before he gave her a farewell and disappeared around her. She suppressed a chuckle of her own before looking around to make sure that everyone was leaving in an orderly fashion.

* * *

Sirius was trying to wait patiently to hear how the Quidditch game went and wished again that he could be there. He had the mirror out and ready to answer and tried not to fidget but it was so bloody hard to stop himself. He startled slightly when he heard a voice.

"Are you really that mad for Quidditch or do you just want to hear from Harry?"

He gave Sami a sheepish smile as he said, "Err… both?" He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts that he'd almost forgotten that she was there, which was a trifle embarrassing.

She chuckled while giving him an affectionate look. "I'm sure he'll do fine, based on what you've told me he is quite the seeker. Nothing will happen to him with so many people watching him."

Sirius nodded agreement but couldn't help but feel anxious. It really should be just a Quidditch game but so many mad things had happened to him already that he couldn't help but feel a little anxiety. The more time went by, the harder it was to control himself.

He was startled by the sudden appearance of a fox Patronus that spoke with Cyrus' voice. "There was an incident with the dementors during the game. Everyone is fine but we need to meet as soon as possible to discuss this as I feel we may have to accelerate our plans. I'll meet you at the Apparition point and key you into our wards, it's about time we did that anyway."

Dammit! He'd been right to feel apprehensive! His attention snapped to Sami as she hesitantly said, "I guess I'll head home then, let you meet with Cyrus."

He immediately shook his head to disagree with her and then responded, "If we're serious about us, then you should be there too." He saw she looked a little uncomfortable so he decided to add his second thought. "I'd also feel better if you came with me plus Roxy will be there I'm sure." That seemed to go over much better and she gave him one of her breath-taking smiles. Gods, that woman looked so gorgeous when she smiled.

He stuck the mirror in his pocket just in case and they went out to the front yard as his wards prevented Apparition into or out of the house, although Apparition within the house was allowed. They appeared nearly simultaneously and he saw Cyrus already approaching. He raised an eyebrow at Sami when he arrived but spoke to him instead.

"It's about time, Sirius. You do know you shouldn't keep a lady waiting, don't you?"

He barely got out a huff before Cyrus was greeting Sami cordially and they decided to start calling each other by their first names. Sirius was busy stewing over the fact that even Cyrus was giving him a hard time about Sami and he wasn't usually the teasing type! He'd admit to being slow on the uptake regarding Sami but he hadn't thought he was _that_ bad. He regained his aplomb as Cyrus keyed them both into his wards as friends of the family while they both had their hands on his gate.

Cyrus obviously thought it was time to get to the point as they walked together towards his home. "The dementors somehow got through the Hogwarts wards despite Dumbledore's attempts to strengthen them to keep them out, it's hard to prevent their entry when they swarm together and that is what they did today. They went after Harry, perhaps because he was high up and near them or maybe they are attracted to him somehow. Anyway, he killed another one."

They both gasped at hearing that as Sirius added, "What? Another Patronus?"

"No, my guess is he used the sword of Gryffindor but I need to confirm that." He then looked Sirius in the eye as he added with a hint of pride, "It was Daphne who cast the first Patronus to protect him."

He couldn't help but think that they were a well-matched pair, a very powerful wizard and witch. He was pulled from his thoughts as Cyrus added, "I think it's time to stop waiting and remove their excuse for having those cursed creatures around a school full of students."

Sirius couldn't help but agree as Sami nodded her concurrence.


End file.
